You and Me and the Weather
by toomanypickles
Summary: Unusual circumstances force Sakura and Gaara to live together. A drabble fic, about more random stuff that has no real point.
1. A Beginning of Sorts

**If there are two things I love, it's writing drabble fics, and pairing Sakura and Gaara. I figure this fic is long overdue, so we're back here again, for one more turn.**

**The title of this story is from a song by Hawksley Workman, because I was too lazy to come up with my own.**

* * *

"Have you heard, there's trouble in Suna."

"I heard. The assassination attempt on the Kazekage himself."

"I heard nothing is being done – the assassin was never caught."

"Is there war on the horizon then, do you think?"

"Oh most certainly, but with who?"

Sakura closed her ears to the gossip in the marketplace. She had come for groceries; she wasn't interested in petty rumours. If there was any truth to them she would hear of it from a legitimate news source, not some old bitties with nothing better to do but sit around and wag their tongues.

She doubted there could be truth in the words though. As if anyone could attempt to murder Gaara and get away with it. It was silliness; as with all gossip and rumour.

Once she bought her leeks she was done grocery shopping and went on her way home. She still had work to do before the next morning. Sakura sighed; why was it that she always had work to do on her day off?


	2. Noodles and Expired Milk

"Hey Naruto, want to hear some funny rumours?" Sakura asked. They were having their monthly ramen dinner together. They sometimes had other ramen dinners together, but they were both so busy with work now that they could only commit to one a month for sure. It was one of the problems with growing up.

She leaned in closer and said in conspiratorial tones; "I hear that the Kazekage has been murdered. And the murderer got away."

Naruto stared at her for a second, and she could see his brain working. Suddenly it clicked and he burst out laughing – his laugh too loud for the small space in the ramen stand. "I guess we're at war then too?" He asked, laughing still.

"Oh undoubtedly." Sakura agreed. She looked at the shop owner, who actually looked a little worried, and smiled reassuringly. "Silly rumours." She told him. "People who don't know what they're talking about let their tongues wag."

The owner nodded and turned away to wash bowls, and Sakura turned to Naruto, who was still laughing too loudly, to quiet him down.

"Shut up already would you?" She said. "It's not that funny."

Naruto wiped his eye. "But – Gaara? That's just not possible!"

"I know." She shook her head at the silliness of the rumours. She turned to Naruto. "When was the last time you went down to the market?" She asked.

Naruto was quiet – a guilty look on his face.

Sakura frowned. "Don't tell me – you've been doing all your shopping at the convenience store?"

Naruto huffed. "Noooo." He lied.

Sakura smacked him over the head. "Naruto! You can't live off instant ramen and pork buns! You're going to die of malnutrition you know that? A ninja has to eat well – noodles and expired milk do not constitute a balanced meal!"

Naruto laughed and rubbed his head. "Yes mom."


	3. Raining Toads

Sakura went into work on Monday feeling refreshed after her day off – even if she did have to do some work. She had still managed to get her laundry done, go grocery shopping, and best of all – her apartment was now neat and tidy again. It tended to get more and more disorganized as the work week (or month, as the case may be) went on, despite her best efforts. Sakura loved a clean house – it was so much more pleasant than the clutter that always managed to accumulate when she left it.

She stepped into the office, smiling at the ninja sitting in the waiting room, waiting for their orders. "Good morning!" She said cheerily, and went in to the next room.

Shizune smiled as Sakura walked in, and put a finger to her lips. "She's in a meeting now – very important."

Sakura nodded gravely, but a smile crossed her lips. "I guess I'll just wait here then." She said, and sat next to Shizune.

"Heard any good rumours lately?" Sakura asked. She was trying to get Shizune as addicted to silly rumours as she was – she was making progress.

Shizune tapped her lip for a minute, pondering. "I heard the country of Lightning is being overcome by the rains this season."

Sakura was quiet a minute, staring at Shizune. "Ok. How is that a good rumour?" She asked.

Shizune grinned. "Half the rain this season is frogs and toads – so I hear."

Sakura laughed, quietly so as not to disturb the meeting in the next room. "The frog sages are mad at them then?"

Shizune nodded. "So what about you then? Anything good?"

Sakura nodded. "One of the best I've yet to hear." She rubbed her hands together gleefully. "I was down in the marketplace buying groceries when I heard this one." She paused dramatically.

Shizune sighed. "You take a little too much pleasure in this whole process Sakura."

Sakura shrugged. "What can I say? I don't have much of a life outside of work."

"Yes, yes. Get on with it, if you please."

Sakura nodded. "Ah, yes. Well, I heard... the Kazekage was nearly assassinated, in his own bed. And the assassin was able to escape, without a scratch on him!"

Shizune stared at Sakura, not even smiling.

Sakura prodded her. "Come on, that's hilarious, don't you think? There's no way anything like that could have happened to Gaara – the Kazekage I mean. He's damn near indestructible. And for the assassin to get away... Why don't you find this funny?"

Shizune was quiet. "I think..."

Just then the door opened and a ninja walked in from Tsunade's office. "Sakura, you're here now? Tsunade wants you in there now."


	4. Coincidence?

Sakura wondered if it was fate, coincidence, or if she was just really dense.

She had just been laughing in the next room about an assassination attempt on Gaara's life, and now here she stood in the same room as the man himself. He turned to look at her when she entered and then just as quickly turned away, uninterested in her. Was that a hint of contempt she caught in his glance?

She thought back to what she had been saying – how loud had she been talking? Had she just made a complete fool of herself? She looked at Tsunade, trying to gauge her reaction, but Tsunade was busy talking to Gaara.

"Sakura is one of the best medics in our city – most likely in our world. I would like her to hear this as well."

Gaara nodded. One of his aides opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again at a glance from Gaara. Sakura watched him and felt glad that Tsunade was her Hokage, even though most days she drove her insane.

"We'll do anything we can to help," Tsunade was saying, "but we'll need to know exactly what it is we're dealing with before we can promise anything for sure."

"Of course." Gaara answered. "What do you need to know?"

"I would like to examine you." Tsunade told him. "With Sakura's help of course."

Sakura started. She hadn't known what to expect when she walked into Tsunade's office, but she hadn't expected this. She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it before she could say anything. There was no point in protesting now – and no real reason to. After all, this was her job.


	5. The Curse

"What is this?" Sakura wondered out loud, gazing at Gaara's nearly naked figure.

"It's a seal." Gaara answered flatly.

"I know that." Sakura snapped. It was obvious it was a seal, but she had never seen one quite like it. Gaara's entire body was covered in black symbols. Usually, once the seal had been set it faded away, like Naruto's curse seal, for example. "How long have you had it?" She asked, leaning closer to peer at the black lines.

"Four days." Gaara replied.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Tsunade asked, raising her eyebrow at Sakura. Sakura looked up at Tsunade blankly, and then turned her head and realized how close she was to Gaara's naked chest. She stood up abruptly and bowed to Gaara.

"My apologies." She said.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she could've sworn she saw a small grin on his face. "You're just doing your job." Gaara pointed out.

"I'm glad you realize that." Sakura replied happily and picked up his arm to look at the seal marks there.

"Don't flatter yourself." Gaara muttered quietly, for her ears only. Sakura glared up at him, but he just stared back at her blankly, as if he hadn't said anything. She wondered if maybe he hadn't. She had often felt, these past few years, that maybe she was losing her mind.

"Have you found the source of the block?" Tsunade asked Sakura.

Sakura looked up and shook her head, frowning. "It's very strange – I can't find any origination point."

Tsunade nodded, a grim look on her face. "Exactly – there is none."

Sakura looked at Gaara, and then looked back at Tsunade. "What exactly happened?" She asked.

"The assassination attempt." Tsunade said. "It wasn't an attempt to murder Gaara; it was this." She gestured at Gaara's body, covered in seals. "They simply sealed off his chakra."

Sakura frowned. "It should be a relatively easy process, unsealing it again. Except..."

"Except there is no specific seal." Tsunade finished Sakura's thought for her. "It's not simply a matter of a specific jutsu either. There are several points in the body that have been altered physically, forcefully, as well. This is much more complicated than any seal I've ever seen."

Sakura frowned. "That's not it. It's more like... it's not a proper seal. It's much more than that. To undo the effects of this will take a lot of work. Nothing should be done until it is all understood. Despite the fact that Gaara wasn't killed that night, it doesn't mean there aren't traps worked into this thing. There is always the possibility that if we try to undo something, make one wrong move, that we might destroy something else in the process."

Tsunade sighed. "My thoughts exactly." She walked across the room to the Kazekage, who had been quite forgotten for a moment, and pulled him to his feet. "We can help you." She told him. "But it will not be a simple matter. It could be weeks, months, before you are better again."

Gaara was silent, scratching his brow and frowning. At last he nodded and looked up at Tsunade. "Well, what choice do I have?"


	6. The Start of a New Life Together

"You'll live with Sakura." Tsunade announced, after thinking on the matter for some time.

"What?" Sakura asked, jumping to her feet. Gaara simply raised his eyebrows, but it was obvious from even that little gesture that he didn't think much of the idea either.

"Maybe you should think about it a bit longer." Sakura suggested. She turned to Gaara and held up her hands. "No offence."

"None taken." Gaara said quietly.

Tsunade shook her head. "No. I've thought about it enough; this is the best way to do it."

"How's that?" Sakura asked.

"We still have to figure out exactly what has been done to Gaara, and even then, he will probably require extended therapy before he regains full use of his chakra again."

Sakura nodded. All that made sense but... "Where exactly did I get involved in that equation?"

"Well, it's something I can do, or Shizune even, but I certainly don't have time, as much as I would like to help you myself," Tsunade said, turning to Gaara, "and I want Shizune free to take on other missions. Sakura, you're the best one to do it – the only one I would trust to do it, other then Shizune."

It was a little scary having so much trust placed in you, but Sakura appreciated Tsunade's feelings. She was always happy to know Tsunade believed in her. "Fine. That's all fine. I'd be happy to help the Kazekage." Sakura said. "But I don't see why he has to live with me."

"I can't be myself, as I am now." Gaara said. Sakura turned to stare at him; did he expect her to understand what he meant by that? He sighed and explained, "If my chakra is sealed then I'm a sitting duck. It's pointless and annoying to have bodyguards hovering around me all the time; it's much easier if I can blend in here."

"Oh, so basically you're hiding." Sakura said.

"Sakura!" Tsunade scolded.

Sakura bit her lip. "I didn't mean to sound offensive." She tried to explain. "But that is how it is, isn't it?"

Gaara nodded reluctantly. "Basically."

Tsunade shook her head at Sakura and went on. "You're in charge of that as well. You could use a genjutsu maybe to change his appearance, since he can't do it for himself."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could see Gaara twitch as Tsunade said that, effectively calling him useless. For the first time she thought of how this might be affecting Gaara himself. She tried to imagine how she would feel, cut off from the flow of her chakra... She shuddered, feeling infinitely more sympathy for Gaara.

"I'll do what I can." Sakura said.

"As I would expect from you." Tsunade said. She tapped her chin. "Now, we just have to figure out in what respect he will stay with you..."

"As a relative." Gaara said immediately.

"No. We can't do that." Sakura said, shaking her head. "I have family here. There's no way my mom would fall for that."

"Well what then?"

"A student maybe?"

"But I can't use chakra – who would believe that?"

"Well, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas."

Tsunade interrupted their talk, suddenly snapping her fingers. "He's your boyfriend – better yet, your fiancé!"

Gaara and Sakura both stared at her, shocked into silence.

Tsunade grinned and elaborated. "You met while Sakura was away on a mission in Suna, and fell madly in love. So much so that you couldn't bear to be parted. He proposed right away, you said yes and brought him home with you." Tsunade laughed. "It's so romantic, I can hardly believe it!"

"I can't believe it." Sakura said. "You're crazy."

"I don't see you coming up with anything better." Tsunade answered, looking at Sakura seriously now. "That's your story – you're a professional; work with it."


	7. A Life Too Long

Brown hair, dark eyes, tanned skin. A couple inches taller, so that he was taller than her. Thinner arms – less muscles all over (he was more muscular than he seemed, under his clothes). A handsome face, not too handsome, but pleasing to look at anyway.

She'd have to look at it a lot in the future, after all.

Sakura stepped back to look at her handiwork and smiled. Gaara no longer looked like Gaara. She chuckled to herself; she was good.

"Don't cackle like that." Gaara told her. "It's irritating."

"What are you going to do, kill me?" Sakura asked, laughing at him. In this new body, he didn't look anywhere near so threatening. It also helped that she knew there was no way he could hurt her without his chakra.

She saw that he was still holding onto his gourd, and wearing his Kazekage outfit and shook her head. "That won't do." She said. "First, you can't bring that with you.' She told him, pointing to the gourd. "Second; I'll go get you something to wear out of here. Tomorrow, you can go out and buy a new wardrobe."

Gaara was silent, but she could tell his irritation was rising.

She grinned at him. "Come on; we should at least try to get along, or else it won't be any fun at all."

Gaara finally let a frown into his expression. "Fun? Do you think this is supposed to be fun?" He asked.

Sakura shrugged. "If you can't have at least a little fun, then life is going to seem very long." She said, and went out to find him an outfit to wear to the apartment.

Gaara watched her leave and sighed inwardly. "Life is already starting to seem very long indeed."


	8. A New Home

Gaara was silent – he had been standing silently by the door for some time. Sakura meanwhile had been busy running around making a place in her apartment for him – trying to tell him about all its little quirks and faults all the while. She felt like she was talking to a wall.

But then, she often talked to her walls, and they were actually better company.

At long last, after a drawn out silence, when Sakura could think of nothing else to say, Gaara spoke. "This place... it's rather small isn't it." He said.

Sakura put one hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "I suppose your place back in Suna is much bigger then?"

He was quiet a moment, looking around, thinking, and then he nodded. "Yes." Was all he answered.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "You were just thinking about how much this place sucks weren't you?" She accused.

Gaara shook his head. "Not at all. I was trying to remember what my apartment in Suna looks like."

"It's been that long has it?" Sakura asked sarcastically. As she talked she went to the cupboard to take out some linens for Gaara. She had only one bed in her apartment, and there was no way she was giving it up to him, Kazekage or not. She was ruler in her own apartment at least.

"I hardly spent any time there." Gaara explained. "I was too busy."

Sakura put the linens on the couch and looked up at Gaara. "Well," she said, "I suppose you'll have plenty of time on your hands now."

For some reason, the idea didn't seem to thrill him.


	9. Human After All

Sakura couldn't sleep. How could she, with Gaara in the next room?

Was he sleeping, she wondered. She knew he could sleep now, now that he was no longer possessed by the one tailed demon, but that didn't necessarily mean that he would sleep. His body was very strange – having had a chance to inspect it up close she now realized just how strange. To not have slept all his life; that would normally destroy a person's body, without even mentioning the mind (because who was to say that his mind hadn't been destroyed?).

She jumped a little when she heard a noise from the living room, and then footsteps across the floor. He was awake after all – was he coming to her room? Did he need something? Would he try to kill her – what if he wasn't really reformed, or maybe he was just annoyed with her? What if he wanted the bed?

She heard the bathroom door open and shut, and through the thin walls of her apartment she could hear Gaara peeing in the bathroom next door. She turned her face into her pillow to smother the laughter that threatened to break out of her throat. When she heard the toilet flush she allowed a small giggle to escape, sure the sound would be masked by the sound of the running water.

So he was human after all.

* * *

**Yeah Daft Punk.**


	10. First Morning

When she woke up the next morning Sakura lay in bed for a long time, contemplating her situation. She had Gaara in her apartment even now. How the hell was she supposed to deal with this? Was she expected to feed him too? What did they want of her? She wasn't a housewife. She could hardly take of herself, let alone another human being, a grown man. Would she be expected to amuse Gaara as well? She smiled, imagining taking him to amusement parks, the zoo, like a mother.

She wasn't a mother at all. She searched her body and could not find a motherly bone in it.

She was nervous.

Gathering her courage she stepped out of her room.

There was a complete stranger, naked from the waist up, sitting cross legged on the floor in her living room. It took Sakura a moment to associate this man with Gaara's face. She supposed that meant she had done a good job rearranging his features then; if she couldn't even recognize him herself.

"Good morning." She said, and Gaara opened his eyes. She smiled; yes, this face was much kinder, though his expression did little to show it. "Do you drink coffee?" She asked.

Gaara shook his head. "Good." Sakura said cheerfully. "Because I don't have any in my house. Terrible stuff – messes your system right up. Will you have breakfast with me?"


	11. Bit by Bit

"How should we do this?"

She picked up his hand and inspected it. "Bit by bit. It's going to take time." She let the illusion fall for a moment; it was easier to concentrate on him when he actually looked like him.

He nodded.

"Don't worry." She said, feeling an impulse to comfort him. "We'll figure it out."

He nodded and she lapsed into silence, immersed in her work. He stared at the top of her head. Her hair was such a ridiculous pink colour; it was hard to take her seriously like that.

"I trust you." He said quietly, a little embarrassed by the words, but she was too absorbed in her work to hear him anyway.


	12. No Offence

Tsunade called her around noon, demanding to know where she was.

"I'm here with the Kazekage." Sakura answered calmly. "Doing what you've instructed me to do."

"Well get over here!" Tsunade told her. "You have work to do – don't think you're getting out of it."

Sakura sighed and put down the receiver. She turned to Gaara, who had been given his other form again, since she wasn't working on him at the moment. She snickered to herself, thinking of him that way. "Would you consider it very rude if I went to the office to do some other work?" She asked.

Gaara frowned. Sakura wondered at Tsunade, forcing her to go in to work. Wasn't Gaara's recovery of utmost importance? Wasn't it rude to put it off like this, to delay Sakura's work on it any longer? It was as if Tsunade was saying she didn't care much about Gaara's health.

"I suppose you're more useful than you at first seem." Gaara said. Sakura repressed a glare. How was it that he managed to turn everything into an insult? He was quiet for another moment, thinking. "Perhaps, it would be good... to get away from the problem for some time, to rest your mind and come back with a fresh perspective."

Sakura bowed to Gaara, partly as a sign of respect for the Kazekage, and partly to cover her irritation. Did he think her mind so weak then, that she needed a rest after a morning of thinking? She told herself not to be offended; it was a stupid thing to get upset about, and it was actually good for her, and good for Konoha, if it meant that Gaara would not take offence at her leaving his problem alone for an afternoon.

"Thank you." She said. "I'd best be going then."


	13. Understaffed

"What do you need?"

Tsunade blinked at Sakura, and then grinned. "Ah yes, Sakura. How's work with Gaara going?"

"It's only been one morning." Sakura answered. "I haven't had much time to inspect..."

Tsunade waved her hand in the air, dismissing Sakura's thought. "Not that – I don't need to hear about that until you've made some real progress, or need my help." She leaned forward. "I want to know what it's like living with the Kazekage."

Sakura blushed, irritated with her leader. "Is that what you called me here for?" She asked. "Do you actually have any work you want me to do?"

Tsunade pouted. "You're not going to tell me then? Fine, fine." She said, shrugging. She held up a paper. "I have a mission for you – it shouldn't take you long. Just go meet our returning team; apparently they have a wounded nin, but their medic isn't capable enough to take care of it. You should be able to finish and be back in time for dinner. I know you have other work, but I have no one else available to take care of this at the moment." Tsunade explained, with a small sigh. Sakura took the paper and nodded. She knew they were undermanned – the long peace they had been enjoying meant there was less need for ninjas, and many had gone off elsewhere to make a new life for themselves, as best they could. Less children enrolled in their schools. There was less demand for ninjas, it was true, but there were even less ninjas to go around. Those who had stuck with it were stretched rather thin. Tsunade was having a hard time of it lately.

"Alright." Sakura agreed. She bowed and took her leave.


	14. Thoughtful surprise

She didn't get home until late that night, despite Tsunade's promises. When she got home all she wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep, but Gaara was there, waiting for her. She looked at him for a moment when she entered, thinking. She would have liked to sleep, but she really should do some more work trying to figure out his curse. She tried again to imagine how he must feel, practically helpless. That was what really made her want to help him, not some sense of responsibility, or honour, or political reasons. She wanted to help him because she knew if she was in the same situation she would want someone to help her.

"I'm going to eat supper and then I'll take another look." She told Gaara, who hadn't said anything.

"Have you eaten yet?" She asked as she went into the kitchen. Gaara answered, yes he had. Sakura opened the cupboard and got out a package of noodles – too tired to make anything fancy. She was about to put them on the table when she noticed the box sitting there, as though waiting for her. She opened it and found inside a fried rice dish. The box was from a restaurant just down the road.

"Thanks." She called, surprised at Gaara's thoughtfulness. She had a thought soon after, wondering if he had bought her supper, expecting her to be back to eat with him. She went to the living room and looked at Gaara's back, and was about to say something more when he turned around and looked at her blankly.

"For what?" He asked.

She held up the take out box. "For supper."

He blinked at her. "Oh that. I didn't get you that." He said bluntly. "Naruto came by and left that for you."

"Oh." She said. She sat on the couch and started to eat. "What did he say?" She asked.

"About what?"

"About you. Being here, in my apartment, a stranger..." She elaborated. If she knew Naruto, he would have flipped out; finding out a strange man was living with her.

"He didn't say anything." Gaara told her. "I didn't show myself to him."

"Oh. Right. Of course."


	15. Sleepless Nights

It bothered her, that she couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong with him. She lay awake into the night, mulling it over in her mind, trying to figure out what it was she was missing. There had to be some key to it – something that would fit all the pieces together so that it made sense.

It made no sense.

She wanted so much to help him, to fix him. She couldn't stand the thought of living cut off from her chakra; how could Gaara stand it? If it was her she would be a wreck. How did Gaara manage to stay so calm, so rational?

She had always known he was strong, but never before had she thought he was brave, until he had lost his strength.


	16. Oatmeal Sadist

"What is this?"

"It's oatmeal." Sakura answered plainly.

Gaara looked at her, his eyebrows raised in a very unimpressed manner. "I am aware of that." He said. "Do you expect me to eat it?"

Sakura shrugged. "You're free to do what you want. Oatmeal is good for you though."

Gaara put a spoonful in his mouth. Sakura was surprised, and rather amused, by his aversion. She hadn't thought he would act like such a child when faced with a bowl of oatmeal.

He ate the whole bowl anyway. He had always been a bit of a masochist.


	17. Real Work

"Is it really ok?" She asked, on the third day when she came home from work. "Are you sure you don't mind me leaving you alone all day long?"

Gaara gave her what would have been a frightful glare if he had had his own face. "I'm quite capable of being alone for an afternoon without any harm befalling me." He told her. "Besides – you're not the only one with work to do."

Sakura knelt beside him. From the looks of it he had been meditating when she came home, and he was still seated cross legged on the floor. "Oh? What do you do then?" She asked.

He looked at her as if she was an idiot. Sometimes, despite her brain, she felt like maybe she was.

"I have a city to take care of." He said. "I'm still Kazekage after all; there's always something to be signed, some proposal to look over, a roster to read, a list to check off. Being the leader of a nation is not easy work."

Sakura huffed and stood up. "I know that." She said, walking into the next room. She wanted to take a shower before getting down to work tonight. "I know."


	18. Disagreeing

**Since people seem to have an issue with this... No, I'm sorry, but these chapters just aren't going to get much longer. This is a drabble fic; I have three other long chapter Sak/Gaa fics if you need long chapters, because it's not going to happen here. So please, stop asking.**

* * *

"Can you please hand me the spatula?"

Gaara handed her a utensil, and she was about to use it when she realized it was the wrong one.

"That's not a spatula." She explained patiently, trying not to sound condescending. She supposed as the leader of a nation he probably hadn't spent much time in the kitchen. "That's a flipper."

Gaara frowned at her. "A flipper? What a stupid name. We call that a spatula."

Sakura pointed to another utensil. "No. _That's _a spatula."

Gaara glanced down at her spatula. "That's a scraper." He said.


	19. Hitting a Wall

She sat back and sighed. "I can't..." She trailed off. It was too late – she was too tired, too frustrated. She couldn't figure it out. She was beginning to feel useless.

Gaara turned away. "It's fine." He said. "Go to bed; get some sleep. You can try again tomorrow."

Sakura stood up and went to her room.

She just wanted to help.


	20. Night Breathing

She woke up in the middle of the night, disturbed by her own thoughts. She had been dreaming – in her dreams she and Gaara had reversed roles.

She went out into the living room, not bothering to dress. Gaara was asleep; she could tell even from her own room. She had gotten used to his habits by now; she knew what he sounded like when he was awake, when he slept.

She went to the bathroom first, and splashed water on her face to clear her mind of the nightmares, and then she went to the kitchen. She got herself a glass of milk from the fridge and went to stand in the doorway to the living room.

For a minute she stood there, listening to Gaara's breathing, slow and even, in and out. She had forgotten what it was like living with another – she used to be around her family all the time, and the sound of night breathing was just part of the background then. It was something novel now; now she noticed it.

She stepped around the couch and looked down at Gaara's sleeping face. She felt strange, as if she was still in a dream.

It was strange to see him sleeping. She knew he did it, now that he was free of the beast, but still... He looked peaceful. She wondered what he looked like with his own face, asleep. Unthinking, she let the illusion slip away.

"Such a strange, small man..." She whispered. "Who looks so lonely while they sleep?"

She finished her milk and went back to bed.


	21. Dreams of Stone

"Of course." Sakura woke up knowing exactly what to do. While she was sleeping, she had worked it out in a dream.

In her dream she had been sitting in the forest, surrounded by three great stones. They were sages, who told her of ancient medicines. She had sat with them, thinking, for centuries, centuries that passed as moments. Gaara stepped into the middle of the ring at the end of these centuries and stood above her, blocking the sun and throwing her into shadow.

"Well," he had said, "have you figured it out yet?"

"Yes." She answered.

He had graced her with a smile and stepped away.

Sakura woke up with the sun shining on her face. It was late already – she always woke before the sun. Had her alarm not gone off? She turned to look at the machine – it was beeping insistently even now. How had she slept through it? She was a light sleeper, as all ninja had to be?

She shrugged. Last night, she had been stone. And what did a couple of hours matter now, when she had figured out the curse?


	22. A Hundred Seals

"It's so simple it's stupid." Sakura said, sitting behind Gaara with her hand against his back. "I've been looking for something new, something complicated, when it was so simple. Sometimes I'm too smart for my own good."

"For my good either." Gaara muttered. Sakura ignored him; she was in too good of a mood now to be bothered. When she had told him she knew what was wrong with her he hadn't given her a smile as he had in her dream – he was his usual stony self. She found herself feeling disappointed.

"It's not a seal." She repeated, having physically confirmed her suspicions. "It is many seals. I don't know how they managed to do this to you in one night, but that hardly matters now. What matters is that it can be fixed."

Gaara nodded. "Good."

Sakura tapped her lip, thinking. "It's not as simple as that though... I mean, basically, it's very simple; to use several seals on top of each other. But to unseal them, we'll have to unravel them, one by one. It's not going to be easy."

"But you can handle it right?" Gaara asked doubtfully.

Sakura nodded absently. "Oh yes, I can do it. It's not me I'm worried about."

"You're worried about me?" Gaara asked, sounding almost a little miffed.

Sakura looked at him. Would he be insulted she wondered. It didn't matter either way; she had to tell him. "You're going to have to build up your chakra again yourself, for the most part. As if you were beginning all over again. The problem is that there are several physical barriers, as well as the symbols. I can remove one seal, but then you will have to work up your chakra to your limit then, and then I can unseal the next, and so on and so forth."

Gaara rubbed his chin for a moment in silence. At last he asked. "How many seals are there, in total?"

Sakura took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She was afraid of Gaara's reaction to her news, wondering if he would be angry, wondering if he would feel anything at all. "I'm not sure but... it seems like there are dozens, possibly up to a hundred."

Gaara was silent another moment. Sakura waited. If it was her, she would have wanted to cry. How long would it take, to unseal a hundred seals? How terrible the wait.

Finally Gaara nodded. "We'd best get started then."


	23. The First

The first seal was the hardest. It was the easiest to remove, but the worst for Gaara.

They began training that night. Gaara was slow, unable to feel properly without his usual senses. He was silent all through the training, letting Sakura tell him what to do. It was hard to learn again, and for Gaara it was almost like learning for the first time how to use his chakra. He had never had to search for it before; it came to him as easily as breathing.

Starting over again was difficult, but he had to do it.

When it was over they went back to Sakura's apartment where Gaara sat on the couch and waited while Sakura made supper. He wanted to collapse right then and there. Never before had he felt so sore or tired after a training session. Was this what it felt like to be normal?


	24. Tired Like Me

"Supper's ready." Sakura called from the kitchen, but Gaara didn't answer. She sighed. Was he sulking because she had been yelling at him all afternoon, telling him what to do? If he was going to be angry with her for the training days, it would be very difficult for them to work together.

She went out into the living room to give him a piece of her mind, but when she got there she found that he had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Ah, I see." She said, grinning. "Not used to working so hard are you?"

She put his portion in the fridge.


	25. Please Check Your Gloom At The Door

"I hate leeks."

Sakura put down her chopsticks and glared at Gaara. He had been in a bad mood for days, and she was getting sick of it. Sure, she felt sympathy for him, and she could understand why he might be in a bad mood, but she didn't have to put up with it silently.

"If you have a problem with my food then go elsewhere and eat." She said levelly, trying not to let her anger get the best of her.

Gaara stared at his noodles for a minute longer, and then stood up.

Sakura watched him leaving, and couldn't hold her anger in any more. "Good! Go away! While you're out, would you mind leaving your bitchiness behind? I'm getting sick and tired of your moods!"

Gaara turned to look at her, standing by the door with one foot in his shoe. "And?"

"And stop being so damn gloomy!" Sakura yelled. "You're not the only unfortunate person in the world! So get over yourself!"

"Are you done?" Gaara asked.

His calm words deflated Sakura. She sighed and waved her hand at him. "Just go already. I'll eat your supper for lunch tomorrow."

The door clicked shut behind him.


	26. Time to Simmer

Once he was gone Sakura sat back and cursed herself. She balled her hands into fists and banged them against the side of her head.

"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" She berated herself.

What was wrong with her, antagonizing Gaara? He wasn't just another guy; he wasn't really on her level. He was the Kazekage – Tsunade's equal, not her own. He was her patient, her mission. Tsunade had placed her trust in Sakura, believing that Sakura would be a good medic, and see how Sakura had repaid that trust.

Sakura stood up. She really should go get him and apologize.


	27. I'm sorry I'm a Dumbass

She found him on the street, nearing the edge of the city limits. He was just standing there, staring out at the forest that surrounded Konoha.

"Gaara?"

He turned around when he heard her talk. Normally, he would have noticed her long ago; she wondered if that irked him too.

Gaara nodded. He looked back at the forest again before walking towards Sakura.

"Look I-" She started to apologize but Gaara cut her off.

"I apologize for my earlier behaviour." He said stiffly. "I am not accustomed to living with another. I realize it is a burden on you to have me living with you as well as having to take care of the seals. As to my 'gloomy' behaviour... I will try to change that as well. I have been rather frustrated as of late, but I will try not to let that affect my behaviour in the future."

Sakura stared at him in stunned silence for a long moment. "Uh... Wow." She scratched the back of her head. Who would've thought he would be the one apologizing to her? "I think that's the most words I've ever heard you say in a row."

Gaara smiled a tight lipped smile. "I am the Kazekage after all." He said. "I have to be able to make speeches."

Sakura grinned. "Of course. Of course." She turned back towards the apartment, but felt that the mood was too good to go back already. "Shall we go get something to eat before going home?" She asked.

Gaara nodded. "Something without leeks."


	28. Receding Hairline

When Sakura went into work the next morning she was happy to see a familiar face.

"Ino pig!" She yelled happily. Ino turned and sneered at her.

"Sakura... It's sad, to be so young and already balding isn't it?" She said.

Sakura managed to hold back her laughter a second before it came bursting forth. "Ouch!" She laughed, Ino joining in and giving her a hug. "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

Ino shrugged into Sakura's shoulder. "There were a lot of long hours on the last mission with nothing else to do. I've been waiting for days to say that to you."

"Are you staying for a while now?" Sakura asked. Ino nodded. "Will you be coming over tonight then?" Sakura then asked.

Ino grinned. "Oh yes. While I was in the country of Rain I bought the most wonderful alcoholic beverage... Tonight we'll party."

Sakura grinned. "Good! I've got to go, but I'll see you tonight."

Ino smiled and waved as Sakura ran off to her duties. "Yeah of course!"


	29. Oh Right

Sakura hummed on her way home. She was always happy to see Ino. Whenever Ino came back from a mission, no matter how long or short, she invariably came home with some sort of alcohol that she then brought over to Sakura's place for a celebration. There was always a good time to be had when Ino came home.

She was still humming away happily when she opened the door and walked in on Gaara signing documents and handing them to a ninja bird for delivery.

She stood at the door and stared at him for a second, thinking about her talk with Ino this morning.

"...shit."


	30. Awkward Introduction

"Ino this is my... boyfriend." Sakura said, with some difficulty. She had never actually introduced Gaara to anyone yet; thus far he had been living in her home quite secretly. She supposed that now that Ino knew though, it was only a matter of time before everyone knew she was no longer living alone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ino asked, throwing her arms around Gaara. Sakura flinched, imagining terrible things happening, but Gaara remained calm. He even smiled, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

He was a better actor than Sakura.

"It just slipped my mind." Sakura said lamely.

"I'm Ino." Ino told Gaara, holding out her hand. Sakura thought it was funny, that after she had hugged the man she would want to shake his hand.

"I know." Gaara said. Ino raised an eyebrow at him and he went on, smoothly covering his slip. "Sakura talks about you a lot." He said. "A lot."

Ino grinned at Sakura. "He's cute." She whispered loudly to Sakura. Sakura blushed furiously and pulled Ino in to the living room.

"Well, let's have some of this delicious liquid then shall we?"


	31. Drunken Fun

"Okay, is this your card?" Ino asked, holding up the king of spades.

Gaara shook his head, grinning.

"Well shit." Ino muttered, looking at her cards in confusion. She perked up suddenly, and grinned at Gaara. "Is this your card then?" She asked again, pulling the ace of hearts from her bra.

"Holy crap!" Gaara gasped, pulling at his hair, so amazed by Ino's skill with card tricks that he couldn't speak for a moment.

Sakura burst out laughing. If anyone had told her, even a week ago, that she would be sitting here in her living room, getting drunk with Ino and Gaara, she would never have believed them.

It was too ridiculous.

"Sakura – you're next." Ino said, turning to her.

Sakura shook her head. "Ino you've been doing tricks for hours. Haven't you noticed you've done this trick ten times by now?"

Ino laughed. "Of course. No, come on, this is a new trick. A love fortune." She said, batting her eyelids seductively.

"Well, when you bat your eyelids like that, how can I resist?" Sakura said sarcastically.

Ino held out the stack of cards. "Ok, pick a card." Sakura did so. "And now another, and one more. Now, put them on the table there, in a row. No the order doesn't matter, not yet. Ok good."

Sakura and Gaara watched as Ino flipped the cards up, one by one, and cackled. "Ohoho!" She exclaimed. "It is as I thought!"

"What?" Sakura asked, leaning forward. Gaara, surprisingly, did the same. "What is it?"

"You're meant for each other!" Ino announced.

Both Gaara and Sakura fell onto their backs laughing. Ridiculous.

"You're drunk!" Sakura yelled.

"Of course I am! You are too!" Ino argued.

"Drunk?" Gaara said indignantly. "I've never been drunk in my life!"

Ino and Sakura both stared at him. At last Ino said. "Well you have now." Sakura fell against her, laughing hysterically.

"That's not funny!" Gaara argued.

Sakura grinned at him. "Sure it is. Just-" She burped loudly, laughed and then went on as though she hadn't interrupted herself so rudely. "Just make sure you drink lots of water before you go to bed."

Gaara shook his head. "What?"

"Drink lots of water." Sakura repeated.

"I know!" Ino exclaimed. "Let's play a game!"


	32. Time For Bed

"Okay." Sakura said, standing up. "I'm exhausted; I think it's time for bed." She held her hand out to Ino. "Shall we?"

Ino looked at Sakura, and then at Gaara. "Nah. I'll let you two have the bed; I don't mind sleeping on the couch now that you have a boy."

Sakura glanced at Gaara, who was half asleep where he sat on the floor already. "No really, it's ok." Sakura said. She was sure Gaara wouldn't mind being forced to sleep on the couch tonight; after all, it's where he always slept.

Ino pushed Sakura's hand away. "No way baldy. I'll feel bad if he gets kicked out of your bed for me." She looked over at Gaara and grinned. "You should probably help him get to bed; he might not make it."


	33. Middle of the Night

Gaara woke up in the middle of the night crushed against something soft. It took him a moment to realize that that something soft was Sakura.

He wiggled, trying to escape her clutches, but she only held on tighter. "No!" She protested in her sleep. "I want to keep the pony!"

Gaara tried to figure out how he had gotten into this situation, but his mind, still drunk, and fogged with sleep, couldn't remember what had happened for this to come about. He vaguely remembered Sakura pulling him to his feet; she was really strong, and kind of scary, now that he wasn't either anymore. Somehow, they had gotten into bed together.

He soon fell back to sleep, with Sakura murmuring still beside him. "Where's the lamp? I saw it on the table I swear..."


	34. Morning After

Sakura woke up to the birds cheeping. She stretched sleepily for a moment, enjoying the warm heavy feeling of the morning after a night of drinking. She was glad once again that she didn't get hangovers.

She stepped out of bed and was shocked to find a sleeping Kazekage under her feet.

"What the?" She looked down at her body - still fully clothed at least. It wasn't a completely clichéd situation. She thought back to the night before. She could have sworn that when she went to sleep Gaara had been on the bed too.

She looked down at his form on the floor again. A laugh bubbled up from her chest. She must have kicked him out in her sleep. She had always been an active sleeper – her mom had always complained when they slept in the same bed.

"My apologies." She whispered, and stepped over him to go get breakfast.


	35. First Hang Over

Training Gaara the next day proved to be impossible. He was slow, and he couldn't seem to pay attention.

"Did you remember to drink lots of water?" Sakura asked, knowing he hadn't.

Gaara was silent.

Sakura shook her head. "Well, I can't really blame you; I suppose this is your first time being hung over. Why don't you go home, and I'll go see if Tsunade needs me for anything today."

Gaara nodded, and walked back towards the apartment. Sakura turned towards the town center and went her own way, chuckling to herself now that Gaara was out of earshot.


	36. Embarassing

Sakura was so happy when Gaara increased his chakra enough to get past the first physical block that she actually hugged him before she could stop and think about what she was doing.

When Gaara very obviously did not hug her back she backed off quickly.

"Sorry. Sorry." She said, embarrassed by her outburst. She wasn't that close with Gaara after all; she had no right to touch him so casually.

Gaara shook his head and turned away to cover his blush.


	37. What Do You Eat?

"But you know... you're still rather skinny."

Gaara frowned at Sakura. She had just finished removing the second seal and he was still in his own form, still shirtless.

She blushed and shrugged. "I mean... You're quite muscular, as you should be, but still, you could have a bit more meat on you, you know? Do you eat properly?"

Gaara shrugged. "Lately I eat what you feed me." He said plainly, putting his shirt back on.

Sakura sighed. She often felt thart he purposely acted dense in order to annoy her. "True. But what about during the day when I'm out? What do you eat for lunch?"

Gaara stared at her blankly.

Sakura huffed with frustration. "You don't eat lunch?" She threw her hands up into the air and stood up. "You're worse than Naruto I swear!" A thought occurred to her. "Speaking of Naruto... I invited him over for dinner tomorrow."

"Ok." Gaara said, as though it had nothing to do with him.

Sakura looked at him; he blinked at her. "He knows you're living here now; you can't hide again." She told him.

"Again...?"

Sakura nodded; how could he be so absent minded? "You know, when he brought the food over; you can't do that again."

Gaara nodded. "...Right. The food. Won't do that again." He turned away so that Sakura couldn't see him smile.


	38. Funny Ideas

After morning training Sakura went to the market to buy food for dinner with Naruto. She had food in her apartment already, but she knew that wouldn't be enough once Naruto had eaten his way through her kitchen. He tended to do that.

Gaara tagged along, saying he had nothing better to do. Sakura wondered about all those important documents he had waiting for him in the apartment, needing the official signature, but she said nothing. In fact, she was a little glad for the company.

Besides which, maybe she would get Gaara hooked on marketplace gossip as well.

When she paused for a moment beside the leeks Gaara sighed. "I thought we agreed you would cut leeks from the menu." He said. Sakura hid a smile; sometimes he acted like such a child.

She kept walking, Gaara following with relief. She paid for her purchase and walked out back into the street.

She was surprised to run into Hinata just outside. She didn't often see Hinata around these days; never before had she seen her in the market.

Hinata smiled hello, and they greeted each other. Hinata looked past Sakura at Gaara, hovering behind her. Sakura turned her head to Gaara and was surprised to find he had casually slipped his hand into hers, even more surprised at how comfortable it felt to be holding Gaara's hand.

"This is my boyfriend, Ga-Goro. Gorou." Sakura fumbled. She blushed, sure Hinata would be suspicious and Gaara would laugh at her.

Gaara bowed to Hinata. "Nice to meet you." He said. His voice was so strange... it sounded friendly. Sakura would have stood there staring at him in shock if he hadn't squeezed her hand to remind her she was acting strangely.

She managed to smile at Gaara, as if smiling at a lover, and turned back to Hinata.

"Congratulations." Hinata said quietly. She looked around, as though looking for someone and then shrugged. "I'm sorry Sakura, but I can't stay and talk. Please excuse me." She said and bowed before running off and disappearing into the crowd.

When she was gone Gaara dropped Sakura's hand and started walking towards the apartment. Sakura turned and grinned at Gaara. "That was surprisingly smooth of you, you lady killer." She teased him.

Gaara shrugged. "Well, back in Suna, I am quite popular with the ladies." He said. At least, Temari and Kankuro told him he was popular with the ladies – he himself had never noticed – but that wasn't something Sakura needed to know.

Irritation rose in Sakura at his attitude of superiority. "Well, I have lots of guys after me too!" She bragged, lying through her teeth.

Gaara turned and gave her a sceptical look. "Really?"

Sakura blushed. He didn't buy it, did he? "Lots." She yelled. "So don't get any ideas!" She stomped away.

Gaara watched her for a moment, puzzled by her behaviour. "What idea am I supposed to get?" He wondered, and quietly followed her home.


	39. Dinner with Naruto

Dinner with Naruto went better than she had foreseen. When Naruto showed up Gaara was in an unexpected good mood, despite the little spat they had had earlier that day. He was surprisingly talkative with Naruto around; Sakura was a little jealous. She wished Gaara was so talkative all the time; he would make for much better company. She supposed if Gaara liked her as much as he liked Naruto then it wouldn't be a problem.

She sighed. Most likely, he would never like her so much, even though she was practically solely responsible for his recovery now. She frowned suddenly – that's right! She was the one he had to depend on now! It wasn't the other way around; Gaara was the one who needed her! He really should show more appreciation for her efforts after all; she was practically saving his life.

She turned to Gaara and grinned, thinking of how she might torment him with the fact later. Gaara was deep in conversation with Naruto, and she was surprised suddenly to see him laugh. Any malicious thought fled her mind at that point.

He never laughed with her. He might snicker at her, but he never laughed. She turned to look at Naruto, who was also laughing, though much louder than Gaara. It wasn't fair. Of course, she knew what effect Naruto had on people, and she knew she didn't have that effect, but still, it wasn't fair.

"Sakura? You okay?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shook herself, trying to return to reality. She nodded. "Uh, yeah." She stood and went to the kitchen. "Tea anyone?"


	40. Gimme a KitKat Break

Gaara watched Sakura washing her face that night. It was part of her nightly ritual; she didn't know why he found it so fascinating, but she wasn't in a mood to ask him about it. She was feeling sort of grumpy, after Naruto left.

"You wash your face every night." Gaara pointed out.

Sakura rolled your eyes. "Thank you captain obvious." She muttered.

"Well, can't you just use your medic skills to prevent pimples?" He asked.

Sakura turned her head to look at him. Why would he ask such a thing? Why would he care about something so mundane? "That would be a waste of chakra." She told him.

Gaara smirked. "I see. So you do have some sense after all." He said.

"After all? What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked, glaring at him. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Naruto was telling me about your first day of training while you were in the kitchen." Gaara told her. "How you were dieting and nearly fainted."

"Give me a break! I was twelve years old!" Sakura yelled. "God!" She pointed an accusing finger at Gaara. "And you! If you like Naruto so much then why don't you go live with him?"

Gaara stared at her as if she was simple. "There are several reasons I can't live with Naruto." He said, and held up his fingers. "First, he doesn't know who I am. Second, he can't help me remove the seals and regenerate. Third, he's too busy with missions."

Sakura huffed and went into her room while Gaara was still counting off reasons why he couldn't live with Naruto. None of them had anything to do with her she noticed. She slammed the door behind her, calling out goodnight.

"Fourth, I doubt his cooking is anywhere near as healthy as yours..." Gaara went on. He trailed off and grinned at Sakura's closed door. "Good night." He replied quietly, and lay down to sleep.


	41. Some Days

Some days they managed to remove two or three seals. Other times, it might take a week to remove one. By the end of those weeks, they were both frustrated and grumpy, and could hardly speak two words without ending up snarling at each other.

But the days they removed seals; those were good days. Gaara could feel his strength returning, and it gave him hope. As for Sakura, she would be in a good mood those days simply because Gaara was.

It was starting to feel like her life revolved around him.


	42. Time For Some Binge Drinking

"You know, this is the tenth seal we've removed." Sakura said.

Gaara nodded. He knew; he had been keeping count. Every seal removed was one seal closer to the last, one seal closer to being normal again.

"I think we should celebrate."

Gaara looked sceptical of the idea.

"I'm serious!" Sakura told him, helping him to his feet. "Let's go have dinner, and from there maybe we could go out for a couple drinks." When Gaara's expression didn't change she frowned. "You've got to let yourself have fun sometimes. As a medical expert I know! Binge drinking every once in a while is very beneficial to your health."

"Would you swear by that as a medic?" Gaara asked, a hint of a grin on his lips.

Sakura bit her lip. "Well... maybe not." She shrugged. "But Tsunade does it. From one Kage to another; if she does it, why shouldn't you?"

"Oh, there are many reasons..."

"But none good enough. Get your jacket; we're leaving."


	43. Nearly Brawling

Well, maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

Gaara was silent. Sakura wondered if he was angry. After all, she had dragged him out to the bar practically against his will. She had just wanted to have some fun; she figured if there was one thing missing in Gaara's life it was fun.

Maybe he had forgotten how to have fun.

Sakura turned and looked at Gaara. He was staring at the line of bottles on the opposite wall, seemingly entranced by all the different shapes and colours. She wondered if he hated her, if he found her company that insufferable.

A man sat down beside her and ordered two drinks. She was surprised when he turned and offered her the second one.

"Oh... no thanks." She said. She wasn't in the mood for flirting, not after having her good mood so wonderfully crushed by Gaara's stoniness. "I'm actually here with my boyfriend." She explained, using Gaara as her excuse. It could be handy having a boyfriend, she thought, even a fake one.

The man peered at Gaara behind her and laughed. "Looks like a barrel of fun." He said sarcastically, and once again pushed the drink on her. He stood up and stepped closer to her, until he was standing close enough she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "Why don't you dump your 'boyfriend' and come have some real fun with me."

In her drunken state she could hardly even muster up a polite smile. "No thanks."

"Ah playing hard to get." He said, and somehow managed to step even closer. "I like it."

"I'm not-" Sakura started to defend herself, but suddenly found herself standing above the man, lying on his back. Gaara stood behind her, glaring at him. She looked down and noticed his hand was holding hers again. How did he do that so naturally?

"She told you already to leave her alone." Gaara said to the man. "Where I come from, when a woman tells you to leave her alone, you leave her alone."

The man got to his feet laughing and holding up his hands, as if to admit defeat. "Shit man... I didn't mean to offend. Have the drinks, enjoy yourselves." He gestured at the drinks, and then looked Sakura over with a look that made her feel very uncomfortable. "She's not worth it anyway."

Gaara started forward, but Sakura beat him to it, punching the man's nose in. He swore and clutched at his face, nearly crying, but Sakura felt no pity.

"You should watch your mouth." She told him. "It's not good for your health to have it wagging that like. You might want to get that looked at." She said, and then added. "But not by me."

The man started forward as if to punch her back, but Gaara grabbed his arm and stilled him. "Let it drop." He said, his eyes taking on their usual intensity, his face suddenly looking much more like his own again. "Trust me, this is not a woman you want to mess with."

He pulled on Sakura's hand, which he had never let go of, and led her out of the bar. When they got out into the streets Sakura was ranting about the man, about the asshole, why did all men have to act like that?

Gaara sighed. "You probably broke his nose." He said quietly.

Sakura grinned. "Yeah I did didn't I? Well, he deserved it."

Gaara shook his head at her. "I'm just glad I got you out of there before you started a full on brawl."

Sakura peered at him through slightly fogged eyes. "Are you drunk?" She asked.

"Maybe a little." He answered.

She looked at his hand, still holding hers. It felt unreal, like some drink induced illusion, but at the same time she was quite sure that was his hand and hers inside of it. "So weird..."

Gaara glanced down at their joined hands and suddenly dropped hers. He went on walking as if it had never happened.

Sakura started to laugh. When Gaara looked back to see what she thought was so funny she smirked and pointed at him. "Oh no! You're not going to pretend that never happened!" She told him. "I'm not _that_ drunk!"

With those words she stumbled over and nearly cracked her head open on a wall. If Gaara hadn't been quick enough to catch her she would surely have woken up with a headache the next day. She was loose and floppy in his arms – and heavy. She laughed and pushed him away, but couldn't stand on her own. Sighing, Gaara lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her back to the apartment.

"You're my hero! My knight in shining armour!" She gushed drunkenly. "You're like Superman! So totally... awesome..."

By the time he got her home and into bed she was snoring loudly.


	44. Napping

Sakura listened to Gaara's steady heartbeat through his back. She started counting the time, listening to her own heart beating as well, to a slightly different rhythm. Gaara's heart beat very slowly it seemed, compared to her own heart. It felt heavy, and comforting. She always liked the sound of hearts beating.

"Sakura?" Gaara asked, suddenly feeling a strange wetness on his back.

"Uh?" Sakura lifted her head off his back with a start.

Gaara turned and frowned at her. "You just fell asleep on my back didn't you?"

"Of course not!" She replied, though not managing to sound convincing.

"You did! You even drooled!"

"Don't be silly, that's just..." She wiped the wet spot of his back with her sleeve as she tried to come up with an excuse. Damn. She couldn't believe she had just done that. How could she fall asleep on Gaara's back – how was that even possible?

Gaara shook his head. "I don't want you anywhere near me until you take a nap." He told her. "I'm going to take a shower now."

Sakura watched him go, blushing. How embarrassing was that?

Once Gaara got into the bathroom he started laughing. It was strange, how it forced its way out of his stomach, this laughter. He wondered, when was the last time he had had to repress laughter?


	45. Compromising Situation

Ino walked into the apartment without knocking. She wanted to surprise Sakura with her return, and if she was going to be truthful, she kind of hoped to find Sakura and her boyfriend in a compromising position. How much fun would that be?

There was no noise in the apartment when she entered. She peered into the bedroom quickly, but there was no one there so she went to sit on the couch, thinking maybe they were out.

No, there they were, asleep on the couch. Sakura leaned on Gorou's shoulder, a medical book open on her lap. He had half a stack of papers on his lap – the other half was on the floor at his feet. Ino stood and rolled her eyes at them. What a romantic couple, doing homework together.

"La-ame!" She said loudly. Sakura jerked awake, looked at Gorou and blushed, and then saw Ino and broke into a smile.

Gorou woke in another second, frowning when he saw Ino. "Are you planning to stay the night again?" He wondered.


	46. Repeating History

Patient Patient - The Morning Benders. Good band I say.

* * *

They were in bed together again, and this time Gaara wasn't nearly as drunk as he had been the last time, though he was starting to wish he was.

"And then, just as I was starting to close the door this guy takes a running jump to get through... and I slammed it shut on him!" Sakura whispered to Gaara, laughing. She had been rambling and giggling for what felt like hours, since they had gone to bed. She was just as drunk as the last time they had been in this situation, and in high spirits. Being drunk also seemed to make her rather clingy – she was trying to share Gaara's pillow with him, and was nearly laying on top of him in an effort to get closer to his ear so she could share her secrets.

How he wished he had had more to drink.

Sakura hugged him suddenly, crossing the line. Gaara turned and tried to pull her arms from him, but found he couldn't budge her.

"You're going to be okay I promise." Sakura told him, in her comforting drunk voice. "You don't need to be scared; we'll get through this."

Gaara was silent. She was in a dangerous position, and he felt it was better not to say anything, not to move.

"I'm sorry it's taking so long." She sighed, and Gaara noticed with a start that she was actually crying.

He pushed her off and somehow managed to get her to lie still on her own side of the bed. "It's really not worth crying over." He told her. "You're the one who shouldn't worry so much. Just go to sleep."

Sakura nodded and closed her eyes obediently. Gaara breathed a sigh of relief and rolled over onto his side of the bed. The mattress was more comfortable than the couch for sure, but he was glad he only had to sleep there when Ino came over, or he would never get any sleep.


	47. I Like Cats

"You sleep as much as a cat." She said, seeing him waking up from his nap on the couch.

He shrugged.

She grinned. "Well, I suppose you have a lot of years to make up for." As she said it, she wondered if she shouldn't have. Was it a touchy subject still?

He just shrugged again. "It's just that I have nothing else to do lately."


	48. Mailing Woes

Sakura frowned. "With all this mail coming in lately, the mailman is bound to be suspicious."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Gaara asked, not once looking up from the letter he was reading as he spoke. "I need to look over all these things. If we weren't stuck in Konoha this wouldn't be an issue. Besides, most of my mail isn't delivered by the usual mail carrier anyway."

"I was just trying to make conversation. Geez." Sakura shrugged to herself and went into the kitchen. It was useless trying to talk to Gaara when he was busy with his duties.

She was making herself a sandwich when he called to her from the living room.

"One of my government aides will be coming to see me in a few days."

"Sure, fine. Bring them on. Invite your whole council over why don't you?" Sakura muttered, more to herself than anyone.

Gaara answered anyway, obviously not understanding her irritation. "I would, but your apartment is much too small."


	49. Mood Swings Aren't as Fun as Real Swings

"Should I leave then?" Sakura asked, glaring at Gaara. The government aide was standing in the living room, glaring back at Sakura, though as far as Sakura could tell she had done nothing herself to deserve it. Except maybe living with the Kazekage. The aide was a pretty young woman, with perfect features and striking blue eyes. No doubt she had become a government aide for the purpose of getting closer to Gaara; one of those ladies back home that he was popular with.

Maybe that was why she had been hired as a part of the government in the first place. Sakura sent mental warnings to Gaara. If he did anything obscene in her house while she was gone...

Because she was leaving, whether Gaara asked her to or not. Not for the purpose of giving him some privacy with his little aide, but because she had work to do. She wasn't free to sit around all day chatting with pretty young girls.

She turned and walked out the door in irritation. She was doubly irritated; irritated because of the government aide, and because she was irritated by her. What did it have to do with her anyway? Gaara wasn't actually her boyfriend, if he wanted to have flings in his office it was none of her business.

Gaara watched her leave, feeling rather confused. Why was she in such a bad mood? She had seemed fine when she woke up; what could have ruined her good mood since then?


	50. Just Her Way

"Why do you let her talk to you like that?" Aki asked.

"Like what?" Gaara wondered, only half listening. They were going over some documents at the moment, and he wasn't really thinking about what Aki was saying, so he had no idea what she was talking about when she suddenly asked him such a random question.

"That woman – she's so rude. She should treat you with more respect."

Gaara looked up at Aki. "You mean Sakura?" He asked. He considered for a moment. He supposed she did act rather rude, though he never really thought of it as such anymore. There was a time when he would have killed her for her behaviour, but that time was in the past thankfully. He kind of liked living with Sakura now, he kind of liked that she wasn't so respectful; she just treated him like a normal person. "That's just her way." He answered and looked back at his documents.

"But she knows who you are – it's unacceptable for her to-"

"Aki. Sakura is the woman responsible for my recovery." Gaara said, giving her a stern look. Aki was a smart girl, but she had a tendency to think too much of rules and etiquette. "I am grateful to her."

Aki looked shocked for a second, as if she couldn't even imagine Gaara being in debt to anyone, but she quickly recovered and frowned. "About that, I've been wondering..."

Gaara studied the writing in front of him. He had a feeling he wouldn't care much for whatever Aki would say next.

"It's just a simple matter of layers of seals isn't it? Why can't you come back to Suna – there are people back home who can help you just as well."

Gaara didn't respond. "I would like to get through all of this before this evening." He said instead, effectively silencing Aki on the subject, or so he hoped.


	51. Boy Troubles

"Sakura, what are you muttering about?" Tsunade asked, getting fed up with her constant mumbling. All morning she had been pissed off about something, and talking to herself in tones too low for anyone else to hear. "Is it boy trouble?" She asked, grinning.

Sakura turned and snapped at Tsunade. "Of course not! What boy would I have trouble with? I don't have time to have boy troubles!"

Tsunade stared at Sakura for a minute, and Sakura stared back. Tsunade coughed.

"Well then... Sakura, would you mind going down to the apothecary to pick up some herbs for the Shizune?"

Sakura frowned. "She can easily go herself."

"I think you should go get some air. The walk will do you good." Tsuande said firmly.

For a moment Sakura was quiet, and then she nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. Please excuse me."

Tsunade smiled, forgiving Sakura her irritability. "It's fine. I understand how terrible PMS can be."

"Yeah." Sakura agreed. She nodded to Tsunade and left the office. Of course, PMS. That would explain her mood swings today. Too bad it was the wrong time of month.


	52. Too Close for Comfort

She hadn't gotten far when she heard someone yelling her name. She sighed and turned back towards the office, expecting someone to run out and tell her she couldn't actually leave at this time, but there was no one there for her. "Who then...?"

She turned back and was nearly toppled by Aki running into her. "Sakura!" She yelled.

"No need to yell, my ear is three inches from your mouth." Sakura snapped. What could Aki possibly want with her?

"It's Gaara! I don't know what happened – he's not getting up!" Aki cried. She went on, blathering about his condition, how terrible it was, but Sakura was already gone. She had stopped listening after the first two words, rushing back to the apartment.

When she got there she found Gaara lying on the floor, pale as a sheet. When she slammed the door open he didn't react and for a second she was afraid he was dead, but when she rushed over to him and held his face in her hands his eyes fluttered open.

"Ah Sakura..." He murmured. "I'm glad to see you once again."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, trying to keep calm. It was something she was good at after all; keeping calm in impossible situations and doing her job.

It wasn't easy this time.

"I was just talking with Aki, and I thought... I've never thanked you."

"Be quiet." Sakura told him. "You're embarrassing yourself." What was wrong now? Where was Aki? What had happened? "What happened to you?"

"You disrespected me."

Aki burst in the door, slamming it against the wall just as Sakura did.

"What happened?" Sakura yelled.

"I don't – I tried to remove the seal. I thought-"

Sakura cursed the girl, at the same time blessing her for explaining. It was something simple then. "You fools." She muttered. She leaned over Gaara and concentrated on the lines of his chakra, looking for the seal that had been prematurely removed.

Gaara wasn't making it easy, trying to confess to her all his secrets, thinking he was dying while she was trying to save his life. "I like living with you. You talk in your sleep every night you know."

Sakura frowned at Gaara. Why the hell would dying make him so damn chatty? "Would you shut up so I can save you?" She growled at him. Gaara obeyed, giving her a strange smile she had never seen before. She had no time to wonder at its meaning – she could feel his life energy being sucked into the vacuum created by the removed seal. He was fading fast.

She worked just as fast, pulling from her memory the shape of the missing seal and recreating it to fill the void. It was a relatively simple thing, made unusually hard by her heart beating fast in her chest, and the blood rushing in her ears.

But it was done, and Gaara was saved from death, and returned to his previous state of powerlessness. Sakura sighed in relief when she saw that he had fallen asleep, but wasn't in danger anymore.

Aki stepped forward. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I only wanted to help. I thought you were..."

Sakura stood up to look at Aki at eye level. She thought of all the things she could say to this girl, how stupid she had been, how careless, but she didn't feel like berating her. She felt too tired. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Come here; help me lift him to the bed."

Aki stared at Sakura for a moment, and then burst into tears. "Thank you!" She sobbed. "Thank you."


	53. Weakened State

When Gaara woke up Aki and Sakura were both sitting nearby, Aki hovering nervously, Sakura working on a medical report. Aki jumped to her feet as Gaara opened his eyes. Sakura looked up and nodded.

"Good, you're awake." She stood and stretched before walking to the door. "I'll leave you two to talk." She said and went to finish her report in the living room.

Gaara was still groggy, and wasn't really sure what was going on. He remembered being in great pain, and thinking he was going to die. He wasn't going to die again was he? He looked up at the girl hovering over him and frowned. She looked very familiar, a girl he knew from Suna. Ah yes, Aki.

"What happened?" He asked.

Aki looked ready to burst into tears, but she held them back admirably. Why she would be crying, he had no idea, but after all, she was an emotional girl, strange for a shinobi.

"Please Kazekage, please return to Suna!" She pleaded. "I know I hurt you just now, but there's still no need for you to stay here, with only that woman to take care of you. You can come home now, now that she's figured out what's wrong; you should return to us."

Gaara shook his head slowly. "No, this is best." He told her. "Until I am completely recovered it is better that I stay here, hidden. If I returned to Suna then I would need protecting, and in my weakened state it is likely I would be attacked and someone would be injured. Temari and the others realize this as well as I do. No, I will stay here."

He realized he wanted to stay. He looked around the room, but Sakura was absent. "Where is 'that woman' anyway?" He asked.

Aki stood up straight, returning to her business manner now that she had pleaded her case and been turned down. "She's in the living room sir."

"Alright." Gaara felt soothed for some reason, just knowing that she was nearby and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Aki, the bulk of our work is done. If you wouldn't mind bringing me the last two reports, I will sign them and you can bring them back to Suna with you."

Aki nodded and went to the next room to do as he said.


	54. Strange Thoughts

Aki walked in and gathered the papers off the floor. In the panic that had ensued that afternoon they had been scattered around the room, but Aki put them back together with a confidence Sakura marvelled at. Maybe she had other qualities apart from her looks after all.

Once she had organized the stack she straightened up and looked at Sakura. Sakura tensed, wondering what she had to say now. She didn't want to hear another apology, another excuse.

"I think I have misjudged you." Aki said, surprising Sakura. "For that I apologize, and I thank you for the help you have provided to our Kazekage. From the people of Suna; you have our gratitude." She said and bowed.

For a moment Sakura was lost for words. From the people of Suna...? It occurred to her just how important her job actually was. She had been thinking only of Gaara this whole time, worrying about how he felt. She hadn't stopped to consider that by helping Gaara she was helping all of Suna. What a strange thought it was.

"Uh... you're welcome." She said. Aki nodded, took one last look around the room for any missing papers and went back into the bedroom.

Sakura looked back at the report she was writing. She hadn't made any progress on it at all. The blank page looked back at her, mocking her. She was too distracted when she had work to do.

"That's right. Concentrate. Never mind the people of Suna. Never mind."


	55. Help a Brother Out

She finally finished her report at two in the morning. Aki and Gaara had been silent in the bedroom all that time. Sakura was afraid to disturb them, so she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She was sure to be noisy so that they would hear and know she was still there.

She wanted to check in on Gaara before she went to sleep, to make sure he really was going to be okay. She had made the seal on such short notice, from only her memory; she wasn't sure it would last, or work properly.

She knocked on the door before entering, just in case. But when she entered Aki was nowhere to be seen – Gaara was alone.

"Where's Aki?" She asked, closing the door behind her.

Gaara lifted his head to peer at her. "I sent her back to Suna. Those documents need to be delivered as soon as possible."

"Oh." Sakura nodded. "I see."

"Sakura..." Gaara tried to lift himself up to a sitting position, but could hardly manage that, weak as he was.

Sakura walked over and propped him up. She was proud of how business-like her manner was. That nervous, overly emotional woman from the afternoon was gone. "What? Please tell me you're not going to confess any more secrets to me. Look, I'll make you a deal. Stop being so emotional and I'll forget everything you said this afternoon. After all, I know it's not your fault; people do weird things when they think they're about to die."

Gaara gave her a bemused look and shook his head. "It's not that." He said. He looked away, suddenly acting embarrassed. Sakura bit her lip before she could start on another babbling spree. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage and said, "I need... to use the toilet."

Sakura nearly laughed with relief, but thought better of it. Gaara probably wouldn't appreciate it. "Oh, is that all?"

He frowned at her. "Well, the problem is, I can't seem to sit up on my own, let alone stand up and go to the bathroom."

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she realized what he was saying. "Ah, yes... I see how that might be a problem."

He stared at her for a minute, quickly losing patience with her. She stared back at him, trying to think of some other way to do this, but in the end she came up blank.

"Alright, hold on to my shoulder." She said, leaning down and putting her arm around Gaara's waist. Gaara did as he was told, allowing her to help him to his feet. When he stood he had to put most of his weight on her. Sakura lifted him easily, taking him to the bathroom.

Once they were there he made a face. "I think I should be able to handle it from here." He told her, and she left the room.

She stood in the hall and stared at her feet, waiting for him to finish. She felt tears pushing at the back of her eyes. How humiliating, how terrible. How Gaara must feel now, unable to even walk across the hall to the bathroom. She wished there was something she could do for him, but she had already done all she could; he just needed to get his energy back. All she could do was try not to make it too awkward for him.

The door handle turned behind her and she quickly swiped at her eyes before the door opened and Gaara practically fell out on top of her. Sakura turned and caught him and lifted him back into the bedroom.

"Did you remember to wash your hands?" She asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Gaara glared at her. "Of course."

Sakura smiled and shrugged. She tried. It wasn't like her jokes ever succeeded with Gaara.

"I can sleep on the couch." Gaara said when she tried to put him back in her bed.

"Don't be stupid." Sakura argued. "I can sleep on the couch for a few nights until you're recovered. Now go to sleep before I give you something nasty tasting to force you to sleep."

Gaara sighed and rolled onto his side, pulling the blankets up to his chin. Sakura waited for a moment before going into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Once her tea was ready she went back into her bedroom, pulled up a chair and sat down to wait.


	56. Constant Thanks

When Gaara woke up again Sakura was sitting in a chair beside his bed, muttering softly to herself. She had fallen asleep. Not wishing to bother her, he was quiet as he pushed himself up out of bed. He felt much better already, and when he stood, though his legs shook, they still held him up.

Holding on to the wall just in case, he made his way to the kitchen. After nearly dying yesterday, he was famished. He had made his way through half a bowl of cold cereal, waiting for the hot cereal on the stove to cook, when Sakura came in.

"Good morning." He greeted her, when she just stood there and stared at him.

She shook her head and came to sit at the table with him. "Good morning. I guess you're feeling better."

He nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Sakura laughed. "Are you going to thank me for everything now?" She asked.

"Yes."

Sakura stopped laughing and stared at him, before a grin broke out across her face again. "Well, that'll be a nice change."


	57. Something Close to a Confession

She had been worried. She had actually been almost afraid when she woke up and Gaara wasn't there. In a second, a dozen different scenarios flashed through her mind, all of which involved Gaara in danger. She had rushed out into the apartment, ready to chase down some kidnappers, or fight off giant snakes, but instead she found Gaara sitting calmly at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry and hug the stupid man. What was wrong with her? She sat down across the table and stared at him. It was like... But it was different this time. She wasn't infatuated. Well, she wasn't a little girl anymore.

Was that it? Could that be it?


	58. Happy Days

They had to spend the next two days training Gaara's muscles to work properly again, before they could begin with ninja training again. Gaara recovered quickly, though Sakura wasn't really surprised. His energies may have been essentially sealed off, but his body had been strong to begin with.

Nearly dying seemed to have improved his mood too. They hardly argued at all in the week following that incident, and Gaara even went so far as to cook dinner for her once. Sakura made him promise never to do it again, but the thought was there anyway.

Strangely, Sakura started to feel happy.


	59. The World is a Better Place

"Let's go out for a drink tonight." Sakura suggested.

"Right, because that always ends well." Gaara said sarcastically.

"Come on." Sakura insisted. "I'm not saying we should go get drunk, just that we can have a nice sit down, have a couple drinks. I could use a break."

"Sure." Gaara agreed, giving in a little too easily as far as Sakura was concerned. She frowned at him, suspicious.

"What?" He asked.

"...Nothing." She said, holding up her hands to show her innocence. "I was just thinking we should get something to eat too. I don't feel like cooking tonight, and I certainly don't want you cooking again."

Gaara shrugged. "I'll never get any better if I never try."

"Well..." Sakura said. "Maybe the world is a better place for it."


	60. Ballroom Dancing

"Do you want to dance?" Sakura asked. Gaara stared at her blankly and she laughed at herself. "No. Of course not. How silly of me to even ask."

"I only know how to ballroom dance." Gaara said quietly.

Sakura looked at him sharply. "You ballroom dance?"

Gaara nodded. "It's a diplomatic skill." He answered. Temari had forced him to learn, and together they had spent many painful nights learning to dance well. And yet, those had been some of the best times they had had.

"Wow." Sakura said, leaning back in her chair and looking at the ceiling. She was trying to imagine Gaara in a ballroom, waltzing. Surprisingly enough, she could see it. No doubt, when they had parties in Suna he wouldn't have a chance to sit all night, forced to dance with a long line of pretty women. She snorted. "We should go to a ball sometime. I'll ask Tsunade to invite me to the next one."

Gaara sighed. "Please don't."

Sakura grinned at him and nudged him with her shoulder. "I think you'd have fun, no matter what you say."

Gaara looked up and met her eyes and she felt how close their faces were to each other. Suddenly embarrassed, she quickly turned away and ordered another round of drinks.

"I thought you said we weren't getting drunk tonight."

Sakura turned and forced a grin at Gaara. "I said we didn't have to. That doesn't mean we're not going to."


	61. Stay With Me

Sakura wasn't that drunk. After all, on the way home, she was the one who did most of the supporting. Gaara really was a lightweight. She wished she could say the same about herself; if she could get drunk on two drinks she would save herself a lot of money.

"Of course, not drinking would save money too..." She muttered to herself.

"Where's the fun in that?" Gaara asked loudly, despite his mouth being right beside Sakura's ear.

She shushed him even as she laughed uncontrollably. "The neighbours will hear you." She laughed. She was a little tipsy after all, maybe.

When she went to put Gaara on the bed he forgot to let go and she lost her balance and fell into bed with him. She started laughing and couldn't stop. Gaara joined in after a moment. Sakura, still laughing, tried to push herself up but Gaara still had his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her back down.

"Stay." He said, no longer laughing.

Sakura stared at him for a minute and then nodded and lay down beside him. It was a tight fit, two people in her bed, but she was more comfortable tonight then she had been other nights. In a moment Gaara had fallen asleep and she felt the steady rise and fall of his chest under her arm. Feeling brave, and somewhat drunk, she moved so that her head was lying on his chest, and she could hear his heart beat as she fell asleep.


	62. Ah Hell Sums it up pretty well

Sakura woke up when she felt her pillow moving. Now why would her pillow be moving?

Maybe because her pillow was in fact Gaara.

She sat up quickly, staring at Gaara with frightened eyes. He tried not to laugh, seeing how terrified she looked to be found in bed with him. It wasn't the first time they had been in this situation.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura stammered quickly. She looked down at his chest where she had been sleeping and noticed a big spot of drool that she tried to wipe away. She looked at that while she was talking, not looking up to meet his eyes. "I wouldn't normally do this, right? I mean, it was kind of your idea, but you were really drunk, and I took advantage of that and I'm sorry, but I was drunk too, otherwise I never would have..."

"So if you weren't drunk you wouldn't touch me?" Gaara asked. Sakura looked up to meet his eyes, and was surprised to see that he looked angry. She hadn't seen him looking angry in some time.

"No." She breathed. When his frown deepened she quickly went on. "I mean, you wouldn't want that... would you?"

Gaara looked away.

"Would you?" She asked again, starting to really wonder. When Gaara still said nothing she smiled. "Because if you would, then I could sleep with you every night."

Gaara turned back to look at her, and she realized what she had just said. She sounded like a floozy, didn't she? "I didn't mean 'sleep' sleep, you know. I meant... Ah hell." She stood up and scratched her head, embarrassed.

"Maybe I would."

Sakura stared at Gaara.

She laughed.

"Are you laughing at me?" She asked.

"You're the one laughing." Gaara pointed out. She stopped.

"Yeah, sure. Let's do it." Sakura said. Once again she blushed, having just said something that could be taken in the wrong context. She spun on her heel and left the room. "I'm hungry. I'm making breakfast."


	63. Anticipating Disaster

She thought about it all day. She worried. She bit her nails, she knocked into things, lost in thought. The time seemed to go by so slowly – she often looked at the clock. Tsunade frowned at her and kicked her out of the office. She went for a walk and bumped into people all the way.

What would she do? What should she say? She had said she would do it, and she intended to. She just wasn't sure how exactly it would work. She tried to imagine it, but even that was too unnerving, too painfully awkward. She wanted to disappear.

She wanted the day to last forever. She wished that night would never come.

She was, for some insane reason, excited.


	64. It's not a Contest Yes It Is

It was one in the morning and they were both still up, determined not to be the first to go to bed. At least, that's why Sakura was still up; she wasn't sure about Gaara. He was still working hard by the look of it.

She had been losing the battle to stay awake for a coupe hours now. Keeping her eyes open was becoming a real chore.

'Oh, screw it.' She thought, and announced. "I'm going to bed." She got up and got ready for bed. Once she had finished she went back into the living room to check in on Gaara one last time. He was still sitting on the floor, reading. She shrugged and went to bed. She tried to stay awake for a little while, to see what Gaara would do, but soon fell asleep despite her efforts.


	65. An All Nighter

When she woke up with the bed to herself she felt disappointed. Shaking her head at herself, thinking how silly she had been to expect Gaara to want to sleep with her, she went out to the bathroom. As she passed through the hall she spied Gaara in the living room, still bent over his papers.

"Did you work all night?" She stopped to ask.

He looked up and nodded.

She shook her head at him. "I know it's sort of the norm for you, but you really shouldn't pull all nighters. It's not good for you."

"I'll take a nap this afternoon." Gaara said with a shrug and went back to his work.

Sakura sighed and closed the door behind her.


	66. Argh!

Silently, she fumed all day. She had actually been looking forward to that, hadn't she? Why? Why did Gaara ask to sleep together and then pretend nothing happened, and then ignore her? Why did she have to be so angry?

She finished work early and went home to work on removing the next seal from Gaara. When she got home he was lying on the couch, asleep. She walked up to him, at first thinking to wake him up for training, and maybe to give him a piece of her mind, but as she got closer the urge faded.

How could anyone look so worried while they slept?

Quietly, gently, she slid onto the couch beside him. She was surprised when he snaked his arm around her, but not unhappy. Gaara did some surprising things when he wasn't conscious, she mused. When he was drunk, or dying, or asleep, she felt that then she got to see another part of his personality. She smiled. She thought, if Gaara had been living with Naruto they probably wouldn't sleep together like this.

She thought suddenly of Aki and her smile disappeared. Maybe Aki and Gaara napped like this all the time. Maybe there was a reason Gaara seemed so comfortable in this situation; maybe it was because of that woman. Sakura frowned, and felt wrong suddenly, sneaking into Gaara's arms like this.

When she tried to slide back without waking Gaara his grip on her shirt tightened. Sakura frowned. What was he thinking? She wiggled around, trying to get out, but Gaara wouldn't budge. In fact, he rolled over, effectively pinning her to the couch. She tried not to growl in frustration. She couldn't get away now, but how was she ever going to get to sleep in this position? Was she going to have to lie here, awake, under an unconscious Gaara?

She thought of waking him, but the thought of waking him up while she was pinned under him was mortifying, to say the least. So she waited, hoping for a chance to escape.


	67. Hit His Funny Bone in the Fall

Gaara starting shaking. It took Sakura a moment to realize he was laughing, and when she did she yelled and pushed him off of her, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"You're laughing at me!" She yelled, standing over him.

Gaara turned his face to the floor. "You're so ridiculous..." He gasped. "How can I not?"

Try as she might, seeing Gaara laughing was such a rare sight that it was hard for Sakura to stay angry at him. She managed to keep a straight face for a few seconds before cracking a smile.

"You know... you should laugh more."

Gaara stopped laughing and turned to face Sakura. He sat up, looking serious again and Sakura was sorry she had said anything.

"You know..." he said, "I just might."


	68. Become Something Else

He was changing. He could feel it. Now that he thought of it, he had been changing ever since he had met her, ever since they had been forced to live together. Whether it was because of her behaviour, or because of his curse, he supposed it didn't really matter.

He was becoming something more, something less than his previous self. He had always had a feeling that though he looked the same as everyone else on the outside, in reality he was completely different. The world he lived in was different. Since he had met Naruto, he had come closer to their world; he had begun to live on its edges, to be accepted into that world. But now... He was starting to feel he was part of it.

He felt strangely, utterly, banally, wonderfully, human.


	69. Sleepless in Konoha

It was strange to wake up next to Gaara. There was no sweet, sleepy 'good morning', no small smile lit by the light of the morning sun. They simply woke up and went about their day, as though they hadn't spent the night together, as though nothing had happened.

And really, nothing had happened. So they slept together at night – nothing ever happened. They got into bed and went to sleep, and woke up in the morning, just as they had for years past, only in bed with another.

Sakura wondered if it meant anything to Gaara. For every night her heart pounded painfully in her chest when they went to bed, and every morning she was still surprised to see his face first thing when she woke up. Did he feel anything, she wondered?

They didn't even get along much better than before. They still had their ridiculous spats. Sakura found she was never really angry at him though, and she got the feeling he had never been truly angry with her. It was a game, a long running joke between the two of them, their disagreements. If there was anything they did agree on, one of them might have to change their opinion just to disagree.

One thing they had silently agreed on was the side of the bed they each slept on. When Gaara had first suggested they sleep together Sakura had imagined something sweet and innocent, perhaps spending the night with his arms about her shoulders, her face nestled against his chest. Instead they slept with their faces to the wall, away from each other. The bed was small, and their backs were pressed up against each other, so that she could feel his back rise and fall as he breathed, but there was no real intimacy in this act of sharing a bed.

What did he think? She wanted to know. She spent hours staring at him, trying to figure him out. What did he want from her? What did he expect to happen? She had no idea.

There was no way he felt the way she did. No way he wished for something more so much, so badly that it hurt some nights, as she lay awake, trying not to cry.

What was wrong with her?


	70. Midnight Storm

Awake in the middle of the night. Steady breathing at her back. He was asleep. She envied him, being able to sleep so easily every night. She would fall asleep for minutes, moments at a time, but always she would wake up again, her heart beating against her ribcage, reminding her where she was, who she was with.

She opened her eyes and looked out the window. It was so noisy tonight; how could anyone sleep in a storm like this? She had woken up when it first started, falling intermittently, and as she had lain awake listening it had become rhythmic and now beat down with near ferocity.

She'd been dreaming; another dream reminding her of reality. Yes, it was almost over now, wasn't it? Too late, too soon.

"It's raining..."


	71. I Don't Know What to do About It

He was woken up by the sound of rain hitting the window pane, and by her irregular breathing at his back. It took him a moment to take in what was happening, and when he did he felt a strange tug at his chest. She was crying, wasn't she? Should he say something or ignore it, pretend he hadn't heard? Would she want to be comforted, or would she prefer to cry in silence, and act as though it had never happened?

He frowned. What could he say to her anyway? He didn't know what to say in situations like this; until recently he hadn't even understood, not really. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something to say, but his mind was blank. It was something he was just too unfamiliar with. He couldn't comfort anyone.

The decision was made for him; he was silent.


	72. Almost Healed

"You're..." She trailed off, her throat sealing itself on her. Stupid; she thought she had cried it out of her system already. Apparently not.

"What?" He asked offhandedly, not realizing the importance of her words.

Sakura managed a smile, even though he wasn't even looking at her. "There are only three seals left. You're nearly healed."

"Good." He said. He didn't turn to look at her. He was afraid of what he might see.


	73. A Moth is not a Butterfly

He started when she put her arms around his waist. He tried to roll over to face her, but she had him effectively pinned, facing away from her.

"I don't want you to go." She mumbled into his back. "I've gotten used to you being around, as terrible and grumpy as you are; I like it when you're here. I like living with you. I want you to stay. I'm sorry. I want you to stay."

"I can't stay." Gaara answered quietly. He could feel the muscles in her face contract against his back. He understood; he felt the same way. He liked living with Sakura as well; he would stay if he could. But he couldn't; he had a country to return to, a people to look after. When he thought of it, there was a strange pain in his chest.

"I know." Sakura answered. "I know you have to go. I wouldn't try to stop you. I just wanted to tell you that I... Well, I'm sorry for bothering you." She let go and turned her back.

Gaara turned to face her back. "Look at me." He said, but he felt like he was pleading, asking desperately. She didn't realize. She shook her head. "Please." He whispered.

She rolled over to look at him and the moon glistened on her wet cheeks. Amazed, he reached out and touched her cheek. She was crying for him?

"I know you'll leave me." She said. "I always knew you would leave; that was the deal. It's just that I was starting to feel like you would be here forever. And I was really liking the idea."

"I would have liked that too." Gaara answered.

"Can I kiss you?" She asked suddenly.

Gaara was startled, but he answered without hesitating.

"Yes."


	74. Don't Stop 'till You Get Enough

She always had cold toes, and cold fingers that shocked his warm skin as they traveled across his body and found the best place to rest, to burrow and keep warm, the nape of his neck, or the small of his back. When he grumbled she laughed and told him he was her bed warmer, her hot water bag.

Often he would fall asleep while holding her hand, or a lock of her hair. She had to be careful then not to startle him, in case he pulled out her hair, or pulled her off the bed. She never told him about this habit of his; it was her secret.

She liked to fall asleep with her head resting on his chest, so she could listen to his heart beat as she drifted off. He sometimes complained that her hair tickled him, and got up his nose, but he never actually asked her to stop.

He didn't want to stop.


	75. Nearing The End

He was getting used to waking up with a wet spot on his chest. Sakura didn't feel so embarrassed about it anymore.

She grinned at him as she wiped the drool off with her sleeve and then clambered over him out of bed. The last three seals had taken a long time to reverse. It was because they were stubborn, meant to be hardest to remove, meant to keep Gaara from getting better.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted him to stay.


	76. Wonderland

"I wonder sometimes..."

"What?"

Sakura grinned at him, tiliting her head to observe him. "I wonder if I would have liked you so much if you hadn't been in the body I gave you."

Gaara smiled. "I wonder."


	77. Suffocating

Only one seal left. It was suffocating her. One left and he would be gone. She couldn't decide to be happy, to be sad. She couldn't decide to be.

They went for a walk at night, holding hands through the marketplace. She put everything away in her mind, memorized every detail. The moon sparkling off dewdrops, the fresh smell of twilight, the feel of his rough hand against hers.

She was fighting back tears. It was ridiculous, and she hated it. She hated herself; why couldn't she just be happy for him? He would be all better; he would be able to go home; he would be able to get back to his work, his people, his world.

She choked on a bitter laugh. He pulled her along as he went to take a closer look at some merchandise. She couldn't look, couldn't see them. She felt his hand around hers, heard his heart beat, pumping his blood through his body.

He looked at the moon and smiled, and she decided to be happy.


	78. Drowning

"I'm going to bed." She said and got up. He stayed seated at the table, with his papers.

"I'll be just another minute."

She nodded and went to wash her face. The face in the mirror looked back at her, sad. That was no good; she forced a smile. Better.

She laid down in bed with her face to the window. The clouds had been ominous as they had returned home, and the rain was starting. She listened to it beating on the roof, and soon it was joined by the louder ring of hail falling. A storm.

"A storm." He echoed her thoughts out loud, coming into the bedroom. "I remember the first time I saw rain." He said, getting into bed with her. "Everyone laughed. The rain in Suna is very precious."

She turned around and put an arm around his waist. "It's different here. Me, I've always lived with rain. Sometimes I feel like it's gotten into my blood, like it's a part of me."

She kissed him, pretending she was rain, and her kisses were raindrops. He was the dry desert, soaking her up.


	79. Don't Say Goodbye Please

When the last seal was broken his chakra returned to him like a wave, flooding his body. He felt alive again; when he hadn't even noticed he had been dead the last few months. He had forgotten what it felt like, to be full of this energy, this power. It was so comforting to have it back, like an old friend, warming his bones.

Sakura laughed and smiled, and he hugged her.

"Thank you!" They went straight to Tsunade to tell her the news.

He returned to Suna in a flurry of activity, that same afternoon. There was no time to get his stuff from her apartment; he didn't need it anyway.

There was no time for goodbyes.


	80. Laugh Until You Cry

The empty room was strange and lifeless. She didn't feel at home anymore.

She told herself it was in her head; she was being melodramatic. She laughed at how ridiculous she was. She laughed and laughed until she was crying.

After all, crying was what she wanted to do in the first place.


	81. Life Goes On

Life went on as usual. She was always busy with work; she always had been. Tsunade was proud of the good job she had done. She knew she had served her country well. She had heard the people of Suna rejoiced for two whole days after Gaara's return. She had laughed a little to herself, wondering if he would be drinking during that time as well. What would Temari say, once she had seen how Gaara acted when he was drunk?

She started to feel that her apartment was too impersonal. It wanted more character, more of her. She decided she needed more light, and spent her days off renovating. She painted the living room, and retiled her bathroom.

She spent hours and hours in the bath, swishing her head back and forth in the water and enjoying the feel of her hair floating in the water. She didn't think then; she only felt.

She wondered when she would go back to the way she was before he had come.


	82. Hey Girl!

"Hey girl!" A call, a whistle. Sakura kept walking, fairly certain it wasn't for her anyway. In all her life, she couldn't remember a time someone had whistled at her, except maybe by mistake, or when she was walking with Ino.

"Girl!"

Sakura frowned and turned. Why did that voice sound familiar?

Ino pounced on her as she turned. "Geez – why are you such a space case?" She asked.

Sakura grinned. "Ah, it's you. I was wondering who would be so crude and cliché."

Ino flipped her hair back and smiled. "Who else?"

"Want to come over?" Sakura asked. "I'm making Pad Thai for supper."


	83. Nothing Wrong, Everything Wrong

"So where's the boy?" Ino asked, after having searched the house quite thoroughly. She also commented on how Sakura had gone a little crazy with the redecorating, especially considering she was only renting the apartment.

Sakura shrugged.

"What does that mean?" Ino asked, coming into the kitchen and sitting on the table.

"It means I don't care what the landlady says at this point." Sakura answered.

"Well what about your boyfriend?"

Sakura paused for a moment. Her boyfriend. In the end, he really had been her boyfriend, hadn't he? She shook her head. That was just her wishful thinking. She wondered how he had felt. She tried to think; had he ever actually said anything about what he might feel for her? Had they ever talked about it at all?

"He's gone." She said. "He won't be coming back."

Ino was silent for a minute, and then Sakura felt her hugging her from behind. She was still for a moment. "Sakura honey..." Ino whispered, pressing her face against Sakura's shoulder. Sakura heaved a little sigh, and found that she was crying again. She touched her face.

"What's wrong with me?" She wondered.

"There's nothing wrong with you." Ino answered, maybe misunderstanding. "It happens to us all."


	84. Not So Great

"Sakura, are you okay?"

Sakura looked up at Shizune's concerned face and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just feel a bit nauseous. It'll pass."

She was silent as she went back to work. She hadn't been feeling well for the past week. She would have fits of nausea, dizzy spells. They always passed though. There really was something wrong with her.

Tsunade asked if she wanted to go home early, and Sakura said no. Tsunade looked at her and asked again, raising her eyebrows pointedly. Sakura sighed and got out.

Did no one want her anymore?


	85. Blinded by the Light

"I heard the Kazekage's coming to visit."

"What about this time?"

"Oh, just about the usual business I suppose."

"Haven't you heard? When he was nearly killed by assassins, it was a woman here who nursed him back to health. He's come to marry her, I'll bet."

Sakura snorted as she handed her coins over to the merchant in exchange for apples. "Ridiculous."

The gaggle of women turned to glare at her and returned to their gossip.

"Who is it? Who is this woman?"

"Just a regular woman."

"No, a nurse, I heard."

"I heard she's actually blind. She had no idea it was the Kazekage she was taking care of all this time."

Sakura grimaced. Maybe there was some truth to gossip after all. Had she ever really realized what it meant, that Gaara was Kazekage? In a way, she supposed she had been blind. Blind to reality.


	86. Bearing Gifts

She was still excited to see him though. She couldn't help it. Besides, even if he would never really return to her, he couldn't exactly ignore her. After all, she was the woman who had taken care of him; whether she meant anything to him personally or not, she was still a person of consequence now.

Tsunade told her she would be at the meeting. The ministers had expressed a desire to meet her, and thank her personally. Tsunade had grinned when she told Sakura she would probably be receiving gifts for her service.

"Gold and frankincense and camels." She had said, laughing.

Sakura had played along, saying, "Camels? Gold and frankincense I'll gladly take, but not camels. Where would I keep them in my tiny apartment?"


	87. Hallucination

She went out to get a snack before going home. She saw a man in the marketplace who looked suspiciously familiar.

Suspicious because he didn't actually exist. Sakura frowned and moved forward, trying to get a better look, but he was gone. She shrugged to herself and went on her way. It must have been her imagination. Someone who looked sort of like him.

After all, she had invented him – he didn't exist.


	88. A Better Gift Than Camels

When she got home she found no gold, no frankincense, and no camels, but there was a gift, of sorts.

"No matter how much you redecorate this place, there's no hiding it – it's tiny." He said.

She dropped her bag at her feet and launched herself at him. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.

He shrugged and gave her a small grin. "I thought it would be nice to see the place where I spent the last few months of my life. For the nostalgia you know."

Sakura grinned. "How'd you get away from your attendants?"

"We Kages have our ways." Gaara answered mysteriously.

Sakura hugged him again. "I thought I'd never see you again." She told him. "I mean, not here, not like this..." She pulled back and stared at him. He was wearing the disguise she had given him. "Why are you wearing that?"

"I seem to remember you telling me the only reason you like me is because of this body."


	89. Here In Your Arms

"I've missed you quite terribly." She says when she thinks he is asleep.

He nods. "I think I have too." He answers.

She is silent for a moment, and then she laughs. "You think?"

He nods, looking serious. "Yes, I think so. Then again, it may just have been heartburn. Lately my cook has been cooking a lot of spicy food."

She laughed even more. It made him feel strange – to have made someone laugh.

"If it'll bring you back to me I'll tell your cook to make really spicy food all the time."


	90. After All

She was sick again in the morning, but by that time he was already gone. She was glad he didn't have to see her like this; clutching the toilet seat and heaving. There was something seriously wrong with her, but she just couldn't figure it out.

She would ask another medic, she decided. Even though she was fully trained and perfectly capable of figuring out nearly every medical condition known to man, and some perhaps not; for some reason she just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her own body.

Once the illness had subsided she stood and rinsed her mouth at the sink, staring at her reflection.

She looked awful, but still she smiled. After all, she wasn't alone.


	91. She's a Brawler

"Where did you go last night?" Temari asked. She didn't look at Gaara; she was busy inspecting her nails, but Gaara could feel from her aura that she wasn't asking idly, not simply to make conversation. He supposed it was a bit worrying for the Kazekage to be wandering off in the night without telling anyone, but then, he didn't much care at this point. He was going to do what he damn well wanted.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

Temari turned and looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "What's that supposed to mean? If you tell me not to worry, I'll feel like I should be worrying."

Gaara shrugged. "That's your decision. I mean it when I say don't worry."

Temari smiled a little. "I know that. That's your problem; you mean everything you say."

Gaara frowned, feeling that Temari was making fun of him. "It's not really any of your business anyway."

Temari leaned forward in her seat to peer up at him. "If the leader of my country – who also happens to be my little brother – goes missing at night in a foreign country, don't you think I'll consider it to be my business?"

Gaara shrugged. "Fine, I understand what you mean. Well, I'm not going out and picking fights in sketchy bars, or anywhere else for that matter." He told her, trying to placate her.

She sat back and sighed. "Alright. Thank you."

"That's more something she would do." Gaara muttered to himself, and he smiled.


	92. Surprise!

"Congratulations." The doctor said, smiling at Sakura.

Sakura stared at her blankly. "I'm not sick then?"

"Not at all." The doctor replied, laughing. "Well, maybe not 'not at all' exactly, but... you're pregnant."

Sakura continued staring at her dumbly, and the doctor's smile slipped a little.

"Did you... Is the child unexpected?"

Sakura nodded dumbly, too shocked to say anything for the moment.

"Is it unwelcome?" The doctor then asked.

Sakura couldn't answer that question so quickly. Unwelcome? Well, no, not exactly. It wasn't that a child would be unwelcome; it was too foreign an idea to be unwelcome – it had never even occurred to her.

She needed time to think.


	93. Holy Mother of Cheerios

Now that she knew what it was, it made perfect sense. Physically anyway. Medically, it was so obvious she laughed at herself and wondered how she could have missed it and still call herself a medic.

It made no sense at all.

How was it even possible? A voice in her head snickered, explaining; '_When a man and a woman love each other very much... Or sometimes not very much. Sometimes not at all.'_

She tried to shut that voice up. She knew how it had happened; it just seemed so unreal. There was a thing – a child growing inside of her. A child that belonged to her, and to Gaara.

She felt faint suddenly.

What would she tell him? How would he react? She wondered, would he be happy? If he was happy, then maybe she would finally be able to feel something other than shock about this thing.

This thing. This baby.

"Holy shit." She breathed, and jumped up and down a few times, trying to relieve some of the tension in her stomach. Passer bys stared at her strangely, but she hardly noticed. She was full of this idea, this strange feeling.


	94. Sudden Departure

"Alright, let's go."

"Um.. but I..." Gaara trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. 'I haven't seen Sakura yet.' What would Temari say, he wondered, if she knew that that was where he went at night? She'd probably laugh at him.

"What?" She asked, irritated. Gaara had been acting strangely all weekend, all during this trip. She was getting fed up with his half sentences and mysterious absences. She just wanted to go home and talk to someone a little less infuriating. Never before had it happened to her, but for this weekend, she had missed Kankuro's company, if only because if Kankuro had been there he could have dealt with Gaara instead of her.

Gaara paused, wondering if he should tell her. He felt like leaving Konoha without telling Sakura again would be a bad idea. If he had realized how eager Temari was to go back, that she would pack up all their things and get ready to leave in such a hurry, he would have said his goodbyes earlier. As it was, he hadn't even seen Sakura with the Hokage that day, because she was out.

He sighed and picked up his bags, following Temari out of the door and into the waiting vehicle. "Let's go then."


	95. Too Much Too Soon

Sakura looked up just in time to see Gaara's face in the window, rushing past. She turned to watch the vehicle passing, wondering where he was going. That wasn't in the direction of the Hokage's office, nor was it in the direction of his hotel.

She turned back and hurried to the office. When she burst in she noticed immediately that there were fewer foreign ambassadors there – there was hardly anyone from Suna left, except the usual suspects. She barged right in to Tsunade's office; luckily, the Hokage was alone.

"Ah Sakura, just in time. How did your appointment go?" She asked. "Though I don't see why you had to go to a strange doctor in the city when this building is full of capable people."

Sakura was glad now that she hadn't asked someone in the building to examine her. How much more embarrassing would that scene have been if it was Shizune telling her she was pregnant?

"I'm fine." Sakura answered, taking a seat at Tsunade's gesture. "I like to get out and see the real world sometimes you know?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes of course. To walk among the people."

Sakura shook her head. She was getting distracted! "Where is everyone?" She asked. "Did the Suna group go home already?"

"Yes. There really wasn't much reason for them to have come in the first place, as it turns out. I guess Gaara missed us here." She said with a grin. "You must have done a good job taking care of him."

Sakura tried not to blush, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. If Tsunade knew just how well she had taken care of Gaara, what would she think? She would probably laugh at Sakura. She might even be mad – despite all her jokes, she probably wouldn't approve of the way the situation had turned out.

"Are you alright? Do you have a stomach ache?" Tsunade asked. Sakura looked down and realized she had been rubbing her belly. Stupid.

"No, no I told you I'm fine. Just a little distracted I guess."

"Well if you like you can take the day off. We'll survive one day without you. But I expect you here early tomorrow morning."

Sakura nodded and stood. "Yes. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She stumbled out of the door, dazed. Her life had always been full of exciting events – never in her life had she really been bored. She was used to excitement, to craziness, but this just felt like too much all of a sudden. She was overwhelmed.


	96. Pretty Paper

She went home and lay down on the couch, staring at the ceiling fan. Pregnant. A baby. A family. Another being to look after in the future. The future. The thoughts just kept swirling around in her head, over and around, repeating themselves. What should she tell him? Should she tell him? What would she do with a child?

She thought of Suna, of Aki, of Temari. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head. How could she tell him? It would be like trying to lay claim to him. They would think she was just trying to keep him by her side. She didn't want that. He couldn't leave Suna. She couldn't leave Konoha. Why had she gotten herself into such a hopeless relationship? And now this; why had she let this happen?

"I always thought I was so smart." She laughed, tears streaming out of her eyes.

She couldn't tell him. She'd keep this her secret. A child of her own. After all, a long distance relationship with Gaara? He'd probably lose interest in her soon enough. It would be okay; she knew she could live without him, just as he could live without her. They would drift apart, and she would have a child; he never needed to know.

She thought of Kurenai, and her child. Kurenai was okay; she was happy now, with Asuma's child. Sakura should be happy; Gaara was still alive. She tried to stop crying, thinking that way, she really tried. But it was so hard, and it hurt so much.


	97. Unprepared

She went through her days mechanically, functioning automatically. There was always work to be done, always something to keep her busy. She tried not to think. She didn't like to sleep, because she always dreamed sad dreams, because she didn't like having the bed to herself, because she felt so alone. She didn't tell anyone she was pregnant – she wanted to avoid the questions. She knew that eventually she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore, but for now she kept silent. She wasn't ready.

She wasn't ready.


	98. Little Beeatch

There was something wrong with him. He couldn't figure it out. Why was he so distracted, so irritable? He was proud of how calm he had become in recent years, but he was starting to feel again like he had a demon curled up in his stomach. Things that might have made him smile made him snap at people, things that he found calming only made him feel restless.

He couldn't sleep. He couldn't stay still long enough for that. Temari said she worried about him, going back to old habits. Her worry only annoyed him more; he didn't need it. He never asked for anything from her.

Temari finally blew up at him one afternoon when he had been refusing to talk to her, knowing if he talked he would just say something hurtful.

"What is wrong with you these days?" She yelled. "You're acting like a brat! I thought you were annoying when we were in Konoha, but this is just unbearable. I don't have to put up with this bullshit! You're the Kazekage for chrissakes! You can't be acting like a child and lashing out at everyone around you, you realize that don't you?"

Gaara nodded. "Of course I know that."

"Then why are you being such a little bitch?" She demanded.

He turned and stared at her. "Did you just call me a bitch?" He asked.

She nodded, glaring at him.

Gaara smiled, feeling a small laugh bubbling in his chest. She called him a bitch. She was right. "I don't know what's wrong with me." He told her. "I'm sorry."


	99. Tsunade Refuses to be an Enabler

Weeks passed and she hardly even noticed. They had been busy with missions recently, more so than usual, so Tsunade had agreed when Sakura asked not to take her days off, and she worked straight through the month. When things started to cool down, and everyone could breathe again Tsunade then forced her to take a few days off.

"I don't care if you want to work yourself to death. I don't support workaholics." Tsunade told her as she kicked Sakura out of the office.

Once outside Sakura blinked into the sun for a few moments before heading home. She stopped by the market first to buy groceries. She needed fresh vegetables. As she was picking through tomatoes she thought of Naruto. What was he doing this weekend she wondered. Maybe she would invite him over for supper.

Sometimes, just sometimes, she managed to think only of other things. She managed to forget the glow in her belly, and the ache in her chest.


	100. Veeery Suspicious

He wasn't getting better. He was only getting better at hiding his irritation. Which lead to his feeling even more irritated, being unable to let off any steam. He'd go for walks at night through the desert, trying to relieve some of the tension building in his bones. He felt like there was a hole in his side, that just kept getting bigger and bigger. He needed something to fill it with, but he didn't know what. He felt sick.

Kankuro and Temari stared at him across the breakfast table.

"He is acting weird still, isn't he?" Kankuro asked Temari, still staring at Gaara. "It's not just me?"

Temari nodded. "Ever since he came back from Konoha. Do you think something happened to him there?"

"You think it was Konoha?" Kankuro asked. "What, did someone put an annoying jutsu on him there, you think?"

"Not like that. More like... He misses something or someone there."

Somehow, Kankuro's stare became more intense. "Misses someone? Temari, could it be...? Do you think our little brother has fallen in love?"

Temari snapped her fingers. "Of course! That must be it! How could I have missed it? God, I feel stupid, needing you to tell me that."

Gaara pushed his chair away from the table, scraping it loudly across the floor. He stood and looked down at his siblings. "If you'll excuse me, some of us have work to do."

Kankuro and Temari both grinned at him. He turned and walked away, but as he did he could still hear them talking.

"You know, he didn't deny it at all."

"Yes, I noticed that too. Suspicious..."


	101. Turn of Events

When she woke up and her sheets were red she didn't understand at first. She was pregnant; there shouldn't be blood on the sheets. She pulled the sheets off the bed and went to the bathroom, stuffing the sheets in the laundry bin as she walked past. She glanced in the mirror hanging on the wall and it hit her suddenly, like a punch to the stomach.

She fell to her knees, one hand clinging to the sink, the other holding her belly. No. A sudden wave of nausea overwhelmed her and she just barely managed to pull herself to the toilet before the bile came spilling out. No.

She found she was sobbing, tears and mucus falling into the toilet as well. "No, no, no." She repeated over and over again. She couldn't think of anything else, couldn't begin to form coherent thoughts. All she could think was that one word, repeating itself like a chant, like a prayer.

No.


	102. Something Like Pathetic Fallacy

Temari reached out and grabbed hold of Gaara's arm as he suddenly swayed. "Whoa! Are you alright?" She asked.

Gaara slumped forward, one hand to his mouth, the other holding Temari's shoulder. He mumbled something that she couldn't hear, so she moved her ear closer and asked him to repeat himself.

"I feel nauseous." He was saying. His voice sounded strange, he sounded worried. "I've never felt nauseous in my life."


	103. Ow

She didn't know why it hurt so much. She hadn't even really wanted the thing. The thing. She couldn't bring herself to call it...

She shouldn't have felt this way. She should have felt relieved. She did feel relieved, but that part of her mind was so overwhelmed by the great sadness looming over her now, she didn't know what to do. She went back to bed and lay there all day, crying. She hadn't realized how much she could cry, and now she didn't know if she would ever stop.

In the evening there was a knock at her door. She didn't move. She didn't want to be seen like this, whoever it was.

There was silence for a moment, and then the door opened. Someone who had a key?

"Sakura?" Shizune's voice rang through the apartment. "Are you there? Tsuande sent me over, since you didn't show up at work today."

When Shizune walked into her room and saw Sakura lying in bed she immediately rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "What's happened to you?"

Sakura moaned and turned her head to bury her face in the pillow. "I lost it."

"Lost it? What...?"

Sakura pointed to the laundry basket. "I was-" Her breath caught in her throat. She had to take a deep breath to finish the sentence. "I was pregnant." A sob tore through her chest and burst out of her mouth, causing pain to flare up through her core.

"Sakura, you..." Shizune stopped, unsure of what to say. "How?"

"I was stupid." Sakura said bitterly. "I thought... I guess I didn't think. If I was thinking I never would have let it happen. If I was thinking I never would have fallen in love." She sat up and turned to look at Shizune. Shizune sat beside her and put her arms around her. "I'm so stupid!" Sakura wailed, clinging to Shizune's shoulders. "So stupid!"


	104. A Terrible Thing

Gaara was sitting on the roof of the administrative office, looking out over the desert. The night was cool and clear – even in the distance, what he could see seemed crisp and close. On nights like this he didn't feel so very far away.

Temari opened the door behind him and walked out onto the roof beside him. "You've been coming out here more often than usual." She noted drily.

Gaara just nodded. If she wanted something from him, she would have to ask; he couldn't read people that well.

She was silent for a moment, staring at the moon, before she spoke. "Is it true then?" She asked. "Did you really fall in love?"

Gaara turned to look at her. She wasn't looking at him – she didn't turn when he did. He turned back to the sands. "I think... I think I've done something terrible." He said.

She smiled. "So it is true."

Gaara shrugged. "How should I know? How would a person like me know if what he feels is love?"

Temari kneelt down and put her hand on the ground between them. They got along better than they ever had, but they would never be comfortable casually touching each other. It wasn't one of the ways they had to comfort each other. "Gaara. I don't know who she is, and if you don't want to tell me then I won't ask. I just want you to know that I am here if you ever need me. And we can get by without you whenever you need to leave. After all; we were fine without you for those months when you were in Konoha, living with that medic woman." She was quiet then, and then, "Oh."

Gaara turned to look at her, and she turned to him this time. "Oh. Is that it?" She asked. "She's the one?"

Gaara was silent. He didn't know what to say. She was right, of course, but should he agree? Well, he supposed there wasn't much more harm that could come of it. He nodded.

Temari smacked her forehead. "Of course! How could I not have realized it sooner? And I even heard those rumours in Konoha! God!" She turned to Gaara and grinned. "Sorry. I guess it all kind of makes sense now."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, squinting into the distance. One a night like this, the air was so clear, as if it wasn't there at all. On a night like this, they really were so close, so why did it feel like they were so far apart? "Makes sense... Does it?" He wondered.


	105. Mother Knows Best

She wasn't feeling so overwhelmed by it anymore. She was starting to feel less and less distraught by the loss, and more relieved by what she had avoided in not having a child. When she thought of it now, she would laugh. Imagine! She had been so ready to become a mother – she had had no idea! What would she have done with a child? Despite all of her silly plans, it would not have gone as she had hoped.

No, this was much better.

She realized now that what had made her so sad wasn't really losing the possibility of a child. It was the thought of losing Gaara. She knew now that she could never keep him. Nothing would keep them together – despite her subconscious, not even a child. There was nothing she could do.

How could she be expected to compete with an entire country anyway? It was hardly fair.

She sighed, hearing her mother's voice in her head. _"Life's not fair Sakura. Get used to it."_


	106. Don't Be Such a Bother

She was called into Tsunade's office in the late afternoon, after not having heard from her all day. Sakura stood by the door, waiting while Tsunade finished talking with a black ops agent. Once he was gone Sakura stepped forward at Tsunade's beckon.

"I just received a message from Temari, of a rather surprising nature, regarding you and the Kazekage." Tsunade said. "I think you know what I'm talking about."

Sakura blanched. "Yes." She answered. "Yes, I know. And I apologize. It was unprofessional of me, and I know you expect better of me, but the fact remains that I love Gaara." She felt strange, saying it out loud. It was true though. "I know it's a burden to you, and to him, but it should be alright – I won't bother him about it."

Tsunade stared at Sakura for a minute, chewing her bottom lip. "A burden...?" She chuckled softly. "I think you maybe don't realize exactly what the message was about."

Sakura frowned. "What was it then?"

Tsunade grinned and leaned back in her chair. "Apparently, the Kazekage is in love with you too. Temari said she's bringing him here in a few days." She sighed and shook her head. "The two of you are such a burden to us all."


	107. Fools in Love

**Sorry it's been so long. I was experiencing technical difficulties. Hopefully it's all better now.**

* * *

He was excited, like a little kid getting ready to go on a camping trip. Watching him, Temari wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry, for the normal life he had never had. She was glad that Sakura had finally managed to get through to Gaara; maybe now he could have that life. At least, some little part of it.

By the time they were on their way he was practically a nervous wreck, bouncing off the walls, impossible to get him to listen. Temari didn't even bother trying; she just sat back and smiled at the beauty of it all.

What a fool.


	108. A Trial Approaches

When Gaara saw her he thought something was wrong right away. She seemed strange – stranger than usual. Like something had broken inside her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, when she just stared at him.

She reached out and touched his hand, a small, almost sneaky gesture. Then she turned and looked at Temari, and back at him.

"What happened?" He asked again.

She broke out in a grin suddenly. "I'll tell you someday, maybe. But now, why are you here? What's this Tsunade tells me about you being in love?"

Gaara felt his face growing strangely hot as he tried to think of a reply. He was saved by Temari calling them away, to go into Tsunade's office. It was time for him to explain himself.


	109. Water in the Desert

When Sakura first saw him again she thought he was a mirage, suddenly appearing before her in a desert. After all, since Tsunade had called Sakura into her office to talk yesterday he was all she could think about; him and that one little sentence Tsunade had said. 'He's in love with you too.'

She figured she had been thinking about him too much probably, and now she was hallucinating him too. When she reached out, she could even touch him. A thought occured ot her. What if it wasn't him and she had just grabbed a stranger's hand? Crap, now she was making a complete an utter fool of herself in front of strangers.

But no, there was Temari, behind him, grinning wickedly at Sakura. She wouldn't hallucinate that would she? No, she hadn't been thinking of Temari. Then... it was real.

He really was there, standing in front of her, asking what had happened!

She wanted to laugh. She nearly cried. How did he know about what had happened? Had someone told him? Maybe he really was a hallucination after all.

She decided she didn't care – she was happy to see him anyway.

"You're really in love with me?


	110. What We've Decided For You

"Alright then you two, what have you got to say for yourselves?" Tsunade asked.

They were the four of them in the room – Tsunade, Temari, Sakura and Gaara. When Sakura looked around she felt like she was in a courtroom, with Temari and Tsunade as judges, and she and Gaara the accused.

And oh what a crime they were accused of.

Sakura opened her mouth to explain herself, but Gaara spoke up first.

"I'm sorry, I know that Sakura is very valuable to your country, but I would like to request that she be transferred to Suna as an ambassador."

Sakura stared at him open mouthed as Temari tried to smother her laughter and Tsunade grinned wryly.

"An ambassador hm?" She mused. "Is that why you want her in Suna?"

"Of course not." Gaara answered, straight faced. Sakura wanted to wave her arms in his face, to get his attention. Didn't he want to know what she thought? Shouldn't he at least look at her while he's talking about her future this way? "It seems I've become quite attached to her; her coming as an ambassador would be just an excuse for me. Though, if you think about it, it would be a good plan. We could exchange medics between countries perhaps."

Temari by this point had turned her face away, having failed to keep it straight. Sakura could see her shaking with laughter in the corner of her eye. She herself was having a hard time staying still. He had become attached to her? Her, an ambassador, as an excuse? What the hell?

Besides Gaara, Tsunade was the most composed in the room. She stroked her chin for a moment, thinking. "Yes... I do believe you're right. It would be a good gesture of faith, as well as a good opportunity for our people to learn more about each other, and more techniques. Sakura would do well, I think, going to Suna to learn. After all, she's learned all I can teach her now." She clapped her hands together. "Well! I'm glad that's decided! Sakura, pack your bags; we'll get you on the road as soon as possible."


	111. Leaving on a Jet Plane

In the rush that followed there was no time for the two of them to be alone together. Sakura wondered if Tsunade planned it that way on purpose. Had she any idea of what she was doing? What kind of situation she was thrusting Sakura into?

Sakura herself had no idea; she just hoped _someone _knew what they were doing.

She didn't really know what to think of the whole thing. On the one hand, she was really happy. Gaara was 'attached to her', so much that he wanted to bring her to Suna with him. On the other hand, she felt a bit like a piece of meat, being treated this way. Gaara wanted her, so Tsunade sold her off, just like that, with no hesitation, no regret.

As she was pushed from the office to her house, being instructed of everything to pack, to prepare for, Sakura felt like she was experiencing every emotion possible. Excitement, annoyance, anger, elation, love and hate; they all shared a space in her uncomfortably tight chest at the moment.

She felt like puking. Still, she managed to keep somewhat composed, if only because she was too stunned to fall apart anyway. She went home and packed, helped by Shizune. Just before Shizune left, Ino showed up. Somehow word spread fast.

"You're leaving me?" Ino said, jumping on Sakura as she entered the kitchen. Sakura staggered back, unprepared for the assault and laughing.

"So it would seem." She answered.

So it would seem.


	112. A Slight Feeling Of Unease

The ride back to Suna was nearly unbearable. Temari sat beside Gaara, trying to act as though she wasn't there. Poor Sakura just sat across from them, perfectly still, staring out the window forlornly. Temari snuck a look at her brother. He was as calm as always, with his usual stony expression. She wondered how he could be that way now, when it really mattered, when he had been nearly a nervous wreck on the way to Konoha, when Sakura hadn't been around to see how much he cared.

She looked again at Sakura. The poor girl looked so distraught; Temari was beginning to wonder if she had done the right thing. What if Sakura wasn't actually in love with Gaara as well? In her excitement for her brother's first love, she hadn't even stopped to think about Sakura's feelings. Tsunade too, had been cold in her dismissal of Sakura. What if they had done a truly terrible thing?

And putting aside Sakura's feelings, Temari didn't think her brother would take rejection very well. After all, it was his first time, and it was only pretty recently that he had gained control of his mind enough to stop killing people on a whim.

All in all, she was beginning to feel very uneasy.


	113. Stupid Worn Out Emotions

When finally she was left alone, in the new apartment that had been arranged for her as the ambassador from Konoha, Sakura felt as drained as she ever had. She just dumped all her bags in the living room and spent a moment wandering from room to room. It wasn't much bigger than her apartment in Konoha, but it was definitely nicer. There was no flaking wallpaper, no slightly rusty sink handles; none of those homey touches she took such comfort in.

Well now she could take comfort in other things.

She stood in the doorway to her new bedroom and stared at the double bed. She was thinking of Gaara, remembering his face when he had told Tsunade he was attached to Sakura. Was that the face of a man in love? She thought of Rock Lee's face, of Kiba's face, when they were talking for their love. It was hard to see the similarities.

But he had said it. And he had gone so far as to have her moved here. She walked slowly to the bed and sat down. She could take comfort in that. She was here because he wanted her here. He wanted her.

And now that she was here, and she had seen a bit of the city and its people, she was starting to feel excitement. This was the next stage of her life; it was her new adventure. She expected she would learn a lot here, she would see a lot of new things. There was a whole new world out there for her now, and what could be more exciting than that?

She didn't understand where these tears were coming from.


	114. One or the Other

She started when she heard a noise behind her and jumped off the bed, falling into a fighting position without thought. When she saw that it was Gaara she didn't exactly relax, but she got out of her fighting posture. Now that she thought about it, that might not have been the best reaction in any case. Now that she was representing Konoha, it wouldn't do to look like she was picking a fight all the time.

"I'm sorry." Gaara said, surprising her out of her thoughts. "I didn't think – I think now that perhaps I have done a terrible thing after all."

Sakura frowned. "What?"

Gaara was standing with his back to the window, so Sakura couldn't see his expression very well in the fading light as he said, "If you didn't want to come, all you had to do was speak up. Since you didn't say anything, I thought... And now see what I've done." He put his hand up to cover his face and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

Sakura stepped forward and put a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Gaara, what _are _you talking about? Why do you think you've done something terrible? Why wouldn't I want to come?"

Now that she was closer, she could see that he looked sort of sad, and she felt a little tug at her heart.

"If you wanted to come, then why would you be crying? I'm sorry Sakura. I knew you wouldn't be exactly happy to leave Konoha, but I didn't think you would be very upset. I did such a selfish thing without consulting you. I just... I wanted you to be near."

Sakura smiled and patted his cheek. Sometimes he was just too cute! "I wanted you to be near too." She told him. "But since you're the Kazekage, and I'm just a lowly ninja, I didn't think I could bring you to me. Funny, that we thought the same thing, but with very different results."

"You're not mad?" Gaara asked.

Sakura smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. "Not at all." She assured him. "I'm just a little overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. I may be a ninja, but I'm still a female; I'm allowed to be a little emotional sometimes."

Gaara smiled, melting Sakura's heart. "I'm glad." He admitted. "When I heard you crying I thought you might be angry, you might hate me."

"Oh no." Sakura said, and hugged Gaara close. "I wouldn't hate you. Quite the opposite, in fact."


	115. What Utter Nonsense

She woke up in the middle of the night when she felt him getting up.

"Off to work then?" She asked, smiling. She was beginning to feel much better about this arrangement, after talking to Gaara, and getting some sleep. Especially sleeping; sleeping always made her feel better.

He nodded.

She grabbed his hand before he could leave. "Um, hey Gaara. I don't know if you were really planning to, but anyway... Would you mind not telling anyone about our relationship? At least for a little while."

Gaara frowned. He didn't understand why she would make such a request, but after having seen her cry, he still felt uneasy, despite her reassurances. He would do anything to make her feel more comfortable here in Suna. "Ok." He answered. "Does that mean I have to sneak in here to visit you then?"

Sakura laughed. "You're a ninja aren't you?" She looked him in the eye and smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way. "I know it seems silly, but I just want to figure some things out first ok?"

Gaara was silent for a moment, and Sakura was afraid he would turn her down now, but he finally answered. "You know, it's very strange. Never before have I wanted so much to do what another person asked of me."

Sakura grinned impishly. "It's because you love me." She said, with a confidence she didn't quite feel.

Gaara smiled back. "Yes. I suppose it is."

"Why do you always have to add on something afterwards that makes it seem less like you care?" Sakura asked, frowning. "Why can't you just say, "Yes Sakura, I'm deeply in love with you."? None of this, "I suppose so." and "Maybe you're right.""

Gaara grinned and shrugged. "I guess that's just my way."

Sakura sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She said, and waved airily at him. "Get on with you then. I'm sure you have lots of work to do."

Gaara nodded and she lay back down in bed to sleep until dawn at least. Gaara took one last look at her before leaving and couldn't resist going back to give her another quick kiss, chastely on the cheek, and then he was off, glad that the dark of the night hid his blush. He didn't understand it himself, why he acted so strangely around her.

He supposed, he was deeply in love, or some such nonsense.


	116. First Impressions Are Very Important

The next morning Sakura wandered down into town to take a look around. She hadn't instructed to do anything in particular, and she assumed she would be told when she was needed. In a strange city, she didn't think anyone who worked for Gaara would have a hard time finding her if they needed to.

She found her to a marketplace, much like the one in Konoha, only much hotter. All the stalls were under awnings, but unlike in Konoha, where they were protecting themselves from possible rain, here they protected themselves from the sun. People were hurrying around her, eager to get their business done before the sun came out in full force. Now, while it was still early, the temperature was still nice and cool.

Sakura breathed deeply of the Suna morning air. It was definitely different. There was no moisture in the air, no crispness like in Konoha. It was a very dry, clean air. She supposed when there was a wind it wouldn't be nearly so clean, but this morning the weather was perfect, as though Suna wanted to present itself at it's best for her first day there.

Well, she would be glad for it, if that was the case. She was determined to like Suna, whether or not the weather was nice. Having nice weather would be a plus though.

She bought some fruit for breakfast, and something that looked like a cactus, but she was assured by the stall owner who sold it to her that it was quite delicious, once you got past the spiky exterior. Sakura smiled and took the fruit, thinking of how many things in life were like that.

She found a spot in the shade, for even this early the sun was too hot for her comfort. She noticed several locals sitting out on their balcony's soaking up the early morning rays, but she wasn't that comfortable yet. She also noticed how much less clothing people wore here in Suna. She supposed it made sense, but it made her feel a little self conscious all the same. She tried not to stare as beautiful women walked past, clothed in next to nothing. When handsome men passed by half naked, she allowed herself little peeks at least. She supposed her gawking made it obvious she was a visitor, but she figured there was nothing she could do about that. Everything about her marked her as a stranger. Her skin was so much paler, her clothing too warm, not to mention she wore her Leaf village headband.

She leaned back against the cool stone and spent some moments enjoying her breakfast. When it came to the cactus fruit she managed to get away with just a few pricks, and was happy to find that the merchant had been correct; the fruit inside was juicy and sweet, with a slightly tart aftertaste. Delicious.

"Well Suna," She murmured quietly, "you've done well impressing me so far."


	117. New Faces in New Places

Sakura spent the morning wandering around town, but soon the sun grew too hot and she was forced inside. She decided now was a good time to seek out Temari and ask her exactly what it was she was supposed to do in Suna.

She found her standing in the entrance hall of the administrative building, chatting with a couple of ninjas from Suna. Sakura hung back at first, but went forward when Temari saw her and waved her over, smiling widely.

Temari put an arm around Sakura as she introduced her to the others. "Misa, Setsuna, this is the infamous Sakura Haruno. Sakura, these two are training to become medics, so I expect you'll see more of each other in the days you live here."

The woman, Misa, bowed to Sakura, and Setsuna nodded his head in greeting.

"We've heard a lot about you; I hope you can live up to your reputation." Setsuna said with a blank face.

Misa smiled nervously and nudged him. "Please don't listen too much to what he says." She told Sakura. "He wasn't born with what you might call... social graces. He doesn't mean to be rude; he just doesn't know how not to be."

Setsuna stared at Misa with the same blank expression. "Why do you feel the need to explain my actions to everyone we talk to?" He asked.

"Because if I didn't then everyone would hate you." Misa answered, smiling prettily at him. She had dark wide spaced eyes, with lovely long eyelashes, and a pretty little mouth. Her hair was tied back in a complicated looking knot, and she wore very little, in the Suna style. The old Sakura would have felt jealous looking at her, but she was happy to say she was above that now. Mostly. She was still, maybe, just a little bit jealous. A very little.

Setsuna on the other hand, was wearing far too much clothing, as far as Sakura was concerned. Just looking at him, bundled up in a scarf and a thick sweater, she felt much hotter than she already was. And yet there wasn't even a bead of sweat on his forehead. She found this interesting, and the scientist in her wanted to know how it was that his body kept from overheating. She hoped to meet him again and maybe find out more about him, despite his abruptness.

Sakura smiled and held out her hand. "Don't worry; I'm not so quick to take offense." She reassured Misa, as she was the one who seemed to need it. "I too hope I can live up to my reputation, whatever it's like."

Temari grinned. "Oh, I don't know if you really want to try to live up to your reputation." She said mysteriously.

"How's that?" Sakura asked.

"You're very popular here." Misa explained. Even though her mouth wasn't smiling her eyes were crinkled still, so that she looked very amused. Sakura thought she seemed like the type who was always smiling, whether she meant it or not. "Ever since you saved our Kazekage you've become a bit of a legend. And perhaps some of the stories have been, er... a little exaggerated."

"Did you really raise the Kazekage from the dead?" Setsuna asked bluntly.

Sakura was shocked for a moment, and then she burst out laughing. "Oh I see. That's how it is then? Maybe you're right Temari; I probably can't live up to my reputation."


	118. Can Anybody Find Me Something To Do?

Misa and Setsuna soon said their goodbyes and left together to get back to training.

"They're a strange pair, but very talented." Temari said of them once they were gone. "I hope you'll be able to get along with them."

Sakura grinned. "Don't worry; we've much worse in Konoha, some of whom I consider close friends."

Temari turned and smiled at Sakura. "Yes, I suppose you do."

Sakura laughed a little, thinking that maybe the sand siblings weren't as different as they thought they were. She wouldn't be the one to tell them though. Surely soon enough they would figure it out for themselves.

Temari cleared her throat. "I'm thinking that you had something you wanted to ask when you came looking for me though."

Sakura nodded, returning to her previous train of thought. "Well I was just wondering... I've never actually been told what it is I'm expected to do while I'm here."

It might have been Sakura's imagination, but she could swear that underneath Temari's dark tan, the other woman blanched for a moment, before answering with a tentative smile. "I suppose he expects you to amuse him."

Sakura frowned. "Don't tell me he hadn't even thought of a good reason to bring me here before taking me away? Surely, there's something you have planned for me to do. If I'm going to be staying here, then I'd at least like to do something useful."

"I'd say keeping Gaara amused is useful enough." Temari muttered quietly, thinking of how annoying he had been in the weeks preceding, when he had been missing Sakura. Then, in a louder voice she told Sakura. "Actually, I don't think he's thought of anything, but I have. Tsuande said something about you learning from our medics, and I think it's a marvellous idea. I was thinking you could join our team here, as a guest on our medical council, and put in your input, as a Konoha ninja. You won't be going on any missions of course; you'll be involved on a more scholarly level, helping us with our training program and so on. What do you think?"

Sakura thought on it for a moment, as if she had much choice in the matter. As if she would say no to such a proposal. It was far better than the job she had been expected to be given; most ambassadors got stuck in political talks and public relation duties. This way, it sounded as if she would be doing something interesting; something she was very interested in indeed.

"Sounds like a great idea." Sakura said at last, earning a big smile from Temari.

"Great!" Temari said, clapping her hands together. "I'll have a talk with our squad here, and let you know as soon as you can start."


	119. Butterflies

That night Sakura was invited to dinner with the sand siblings. She spent a good half hour fretting and getting herself worked up before there was a knock at the door and Temari walked in.

Temari frowned when she saw Sakura's harassed expression. "What's the matter with you?" She asked. "Are you nervous or something?"

Sakura nodded. "How stupid is that? Fighting enemies and saving the country has never made me so worked up."

Temari laughed and put an arm around Sakura's shoulders, leading her out into the street. "Don't be so stupid. What's there to worry about anyway? It's not even like that first date with the family you've never met before. I already like you, and you know Kankuro, and he knows you, a little. We already like you; after all, you saved our little brother. For us, it's just a plus that he's fallen for you." She explained, and added after a moment. "Sometimes."

Sakura looked at Temari. "Really? You're glad that he likes me?"

Temari nearly snorted at Sakura's choice of words. 'Like you?' She thought. 'He's gone crazy, he's a bit beyond 'liking' you.' But she managed to keep any unladylike sounds from escaping her mouth and respond levelly. "Of course. It's always good when Gaara shows some humanity."

Sakura nodded. "Oh. Of course."

Temari frowned, wondering if she had chosen her words badly. She knew she could tip toe around the issue of Gaara's vicious past, but she had never felt that was a good way to deal with the past. There were plenty of people in the city who wouldn't acknowledge what Gaara had done in the past, but Temari felt that wasn't fair. Gaara had accomplished a lot of things; he had done a lot for the city. To ignore who he was before he became Kazekage was too easy, and it ignored how far he had come to be where he was now. She was proud of her brother, as disgusted as it made her feel sometimes.

"It'll be fine." Temari reassured Sakura again. "Just try not to be offended by Kankuro, or any of the rest of us for that matter. We weren't raised in a very proper environment. We don't always act as civilised as we maybe should."

Sakura grinned. "I know. I did live with Gaara for months after all."


	120. Something Like An Introduction

When they walked into the house Gaara and Kankuro were sitting on a low couch in the living room. They both sprang to their feet as the door opened, but it was Gaara who remained in the living room as Kankuro came forward to greet Sakura.

At least, that was what she had expected him to do. In fact, what he did was stand mere inches from her and stare at her. He leaned in and looked her up and down in a most peculiar manner, and then turned his head one way and the other, as if inspecting merchandise.

This didn't last as long as it felt it did to Sakura, as Temari very quickly knocked some sense into Kankuro by punching him in the arm, and, judging by Kankuro's wince, she was none too gentle.

"What the hell?" Kankuro asked, holding his arm.

"Don't you what the hell me!" Temari huffed, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. "What do you think you're doing to poor Sakura you jerk?"

Kankuro gave Sakura a sheepish look and shrugged. "Ah, right. Sorry Sakura. It's just that I had always wondered what taste Gaara would have in women, when he finally developed a taste for them."

Temari punched Kankuro again, but this time he managed to dodge. "Ok, I did not deserve that!" He protested.

"Yes you did! Don't be so crude!" Temari yelled.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from laughing, but she couldn't help it; a snort escaped her. Temari turned to Sakura and began to apologize for Kankuro's behaviour, but Kankuro grinned at Sakura.

"Don't be so stupid." He told Temari. "She's not offended at all; she's laughing." He turned to Gaara, who had been quite ignored throughout their comedy routine and gave him the thumbs up. "Good choice." He told Gaara. "I like her!"

With his face turned away, he didn't have time to avoid Temari's next blow.


	121. Food Fight

Dinner was a strange and delicious experience. The Sand Siblings had a cook, by virtue of Gaara's being the Kazekage, so they had a very delicious, (and nutritional, Sakura was happy to note) meal. After the initial embarrassment of meeting Gaara' family as his 'girlfriend' (it was such a strange word Sakura thought. When Kankuro first referred to her as such she mouthed the word, unable to believe that it meant her) and Kankuro's introduction Sakura found the sand siblings were much warmer than she had ever expected them to be.

It seemed the past few years had been kind to them, and they were getting over the past very well. Temari and Kankuro had a wicked sense of humour (so that was where Gaara got it from) and Sakura got along very well with them. Gaara was very quiet at dinner, mostly just glaring at Kankuro or Temari when they teased him, and occasionally saying a word or two to defend himself. Sakura got the feeling that they often teased him. She found this amazing. After all, only a few years ago Gaara had considered them nothing more than lumps of flesh, and would have killed everyone sitting at the table without batting an eyelid. When she thought this she couldn't help but smile at Gaara, and to her surprise he blushed and stared at his plate.

Unfortunately for Gaara, Kankuro noticed this too. And he didn't seem to be as touched by the gesture as Sakura. He laughed and slapped Gaara on the back. "Temari, did you see that? Our little Gaara, blushing!" He turned to Sakura, grinning. "Sakura, what _did_ you do?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Temari threw a bread roll at Kankuro.


	122. Hopelessly Devoted To You

Gaara wanted to walk Sakura back to her apartment after dinner, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"What will people think if the Kazekage escorts home just some ninja from the neighbouring village?" She asked. She knew what they would think; that she wasn't important enough to merit such treatment. They might wonder if something else was going on. They might start to wonder why she was really there.

Gaara frowned. "You're not _just_ _some ninja_," he said, and for one second Sakura thought he was going to say something really embarrassing in front of his siblings, but he explained, "You're a hero to the people of Suna. You're the one who saved me."

Temari and Kankuro nodded. Temari said, "It's not just the two of us who are thankful to you for that. You may not have noticed if you haven't been out much yet, but everyone here already likes you. Almost as much as we like our Kazekage." She added, with a smile at Gaara that betrayed her sisterly affection in a way she probably wouldn't do consciously.

After one more weak protest Sakura realized this was one fight she wasn't going to win. "Alright. Fine." She relented, and let Gaara walk with her out into the street.

It was very strange, she decided, to walk through the streets and have everyone smiling at her. Back home, she was used to the occasional smile; after all she knew about half the people living in Konoha, but to have streets full of strangers turning to look at her, and smile, and wave. After a moment, noticing that they were really looking at Gaara, she calmed down a little.

Gaara always waved in return. Sakura's walk home took decidedly longer than it should have, as Gaara kept stopping to chat with passer bys, and to introduce Sakura. The news of her identity was always greeted with a surprised face, followed by a big smile. Everyone wanted to shake her hand. "Job well done." They told her with enthusiasm. She couldn't help smiling.

She looked at Gaara. It was strange; she had always known he was Kazekage, but she hadn't realized how well liked he was. She had never imagined him like this, talking with people in the streets. It was so very different from the way she had imagined him all these years. She felt that the more she got to know him, the more she saw of his different faces, and the more she liked him.

She sighed. She was well on her way to being hopelessly in love.


	123. Way To Go Sakura

Gaara couldn't come in; Sakura was adamant on that point.

"No." She said again. "If you don't go back downstairs and outside then people will be suspicious."

Gaara sighed and leaned his head against the wall. Why was he so frustrated by this behaviour? Well, after all, he had brought her to Suna so that they could be together more often, and here she was, telling him they couldn't do that. He was starting to feel annoyed with her. She had said herself that she wanted to be close to him too, so why was she pushing him away now?

Sakura bit her lip. She hoped she wasn't being too frustrating. "Look Gaara, I just..." She shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I should prove myself before anyone finds out." She stared at her feet and fidgeted. "I mean, what if they think I'm not good enough? Everyone in Suna really loves you, and maybe I did save you, but I'm still a foreigner. I'm sure that they'd rather you had picked a girl from the village, someone more suitable for you."

Gaara frowned. "More suitable for me?" He asked. "What exactly does that mean?"

Sakura looked up, startled by his angry tone. Great. How had she ruined such a nice night so easily? "I just mean... Well, look at me. I'm not exactly the catch of the day."

"I am looking at you." Gaara answered flatly. "I'm always looking at you."

Sakura blushed, and was at a loss for what to say, but luckily for her, she didn't have to answer. At that moment they heard footsteps coming down the hall and both looked that way. Gaara sighed mentally.

"Goodnight Sakura." He said, and bowed stiffly to her before walking away. Sakura watched him go, feeling an odd ache in her stomach.

She turned and went inside.


	124. Getting Down to Business Almost

The next morning she started work. In fact, she didn't do much work that day, but she did meet a lot of people. There was the medical commitee, a group of doctors, medics and ninjas who were in charge of medicine all over the city. They were involved not only in medical matters on missions, but also responsible for civilian health matters, and looking over the hospitals in the city.

They were all very interested to meet Sakura. She was happy to meet them all too. Here were people who felt the same way, who thought the same sorts of things as her. They all cared very much about her opinion, and she felt the same.

They told her she would be assigned an intern, as all medics on the committee were. She was to meet this person tomorrow, when she went out into the city to have a look at the medical facilities in Suna hospitals. At this point, they just wanted to know her opinion, to learn how their hospitals differed from Konoha hospitals and so on. Sakura realized that her role wasn't very important, but she didn't mind over much. She was just happy to be back at work.


	125. Not Quite That Pathetic

She tried not to be disappointed when Gaara didn't visit her after her first day of work. She had been excited to tell him all about it, and ask him more about the people she had just met. She had to remind herself that he was a very important person, and very busy. She shouldn't be greedy. It was only natural that some days he wouldn't be able to spare the time for her. This would be the first of many days, likely, in which she didn't see him. And it wasn't like she couldn't handle it; after all she had spent months without him. And she wasn't such a dependant woman that she needed to see him every day. She wasn't that pathetic by any means.

So it was fine that she didn't see him. Just because he was busy, it was no problem. It didn't mean that he was mad at her, necessarily, hopefully.


	126. Sisterly Worrying

Temari came home late that night, having left her brothers at the office after finishing most of her work. Unlike her siblings, she had never been the type to overwork herself if she could avoid it. She could finish the work tomorrow; she needed sleep now, and she intended to get it. Gaara and Kankuro could do what they wanted.

She was a little surprised at Gaara actually. She had expected him to leave earlier as well, to go see Sakura. He had been so excited to have her in Suna; Temari expected him to go see Sakura every day. She was pretty sure he hadn't seen her since dinner last night, after which he had returned from walking Sakura home much earlier than Kankuro and Temari had expected.

Temari fell into bed without bothering to undress. She hoped everything was going alright between those two. After all, she still wasn't sure about Sakura's feelings. She seemed to be accepting of Gaara anyway, but what if she was only going along with him because of who he was?

Temari sighed and buried her head into her pillow. Forget it, she told herself. It wasn't really her place to butt in on their business. Besides, she had enough to worry about without having to watch over her little brother's love life all the time.

"That's right." She muttered. "They're adults. They can figure it out." And so comforted she fell into a deep sleep.


	127. A Young Bitty?

Gaara and Kankuro were silent at the breakfast table, which left Temari talking to herself. As she didn't much enjoy talking to herself, she soon fell silent as well. She glared at Kankuro over the table, wondering what his problem was, but he looked at Gaara. Temari wasn't worried about Gaara's silence; Gaara was usually silent, but judging from Kankuro's look she wondered if there was something the matter and glanced at Gaara.

Gaara calmly finished his breakfast and got up. "See you at the office." He said, and then he was gone.

Temari looked at Kankuro and raised her eyebrows. "So what did I miss?" She asked.

"He came home with me last night." Kankuro told her.

"So?" Temari asked, not seeing the significance of such an event. Gaara often came back with Kankuro; it made sense when they were both working late. Kankuro just stared at her levelly, and after a moment she realized what he meant. "Oh! He didn't go see her?"

Kankuro shook his head.

"Trouble in paradise you think?"

Kankuro shrugged. "I don't know. He seems to be in a black mood though."

Temari nodded and scratched her chin. They were both silent, and after a moment she laughed. "Listen to us." She said. "Gossiping about his love life, dissecting his every action. We're a couple of old bitties."

Kankuro snorted. "Speak for yourself; I'm not old."


	128. She'll be Working For Me

Sakura had been a little terrified to meet her intern. What if they didn't like her? What if they did like her, but they expected too much and were disappointed with the real person? There were a hundred things that could go wrong, all resulting in Sakura receiving an intern who then became disdainful of her, and turned the whole town against her, so that Sakura got thrown out of Suna, declared a fraud, and banned from ever seeing Gaara again, not that he would want to see her anymore, once she had been discovered to be just a normal person, and not a super woman medic.

She was on the verge of throwing up that morning, waiting for her intern. She was standing with another member of the committee, Atsuo, who was there to introduce her and show her around the hospitals. It was a sunny morning, and they were standing in the shade, just in front of the first hospital they were to visit.

Sakura liked Atsuo. He was a stylish middle aged man who always smiled in a genuine way. He made her feel at ease; he made everyone feel at ease. She thought that would be a good trait for medics to have, and wondered about the possibility of teaching manners to medics. After all, she had met some rather unfriendly medics in her days on the field, and though they did their jobs well, they didn't exactly inspire gratitude with their bedside manner. It's hard to be comforted by a medic who glares at you.

"Where is that girl?" Atsuo wondered, looking at his pocket watch. "I swear, she' slate for everything."

Sakura fretted. 'She's late? What does that mean? Is she already showing disdain for me? Is this a deliberate show of contempt?'

Someone yelled from across the street. Sakura and Atsuo looked up to see Misa running up to them. Atsuo began berating Misa for being so late, a lecture Misa took with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. Sorry." She said, bowing politely. "I slept through my alarm."

Atsuo shook his head. "You're always sleeping through your alarm." He told her. "Maybe it's time to get another one. Or four."

Misa laughed. "Yes, you're right." She turned to Sakura and held out her hand. "Good morning."

Sakura shook Misa's hand smiling, as Atsuo introduced them again. She felt awash in relief, knowing that Misa was to be her intern. She liked the girl, and Misa had seemed to like Sakura as well.

"You seem to have met already." Atsuo was saying. "Good. Misa will be your intern while you stay in Suna. I'm sure she can learn a lot from you."

Misa laughed. "Yep. I'm going to learn to revive the dead, right?"


	129. A Drink After Work Is Always Good

The first day passed smoothly, and ended with a tired Sakura going out for a drink with Misa. Throughout the day Misa had been helpful, explaining customs to Sakura that didn't at first make sense to her, giving her interesting information, and providing extra details about the people they met that weren't exactly useful, but at least amusing.

Sakura was beginning to think they would get on very well indeed.

They chatted companionably through the first drink, and just as they ordered a second round Misa smiled and waved at someone behind Sakura, and when Sakura turned she saw Setsuna walking through the room to meet them.

"Good evening Haruno, Misa." Setsuna greeted them with a stiff bow. Misa grinned and ordered a drink for him as well.

"Join us why don't you?" Misa asked, patting the seat beside her. "I'm sure you'd just love to pick Sakura's brain – and once she's had a few drinks, I'll bet she'll be happy to oblige." She added, winking at Sakura. Sakura couldn't help smiling.

Setsuna managed not to show any expression. Sakura thought suddenly of Shino, realizing that those two were very much alike.

"Then I'll sit and talk." Setsuna said and sat beside Misa. "If you don't mind." He added, looking at Sakura. He spoke not as though he actually cared what Sakura thought, but as if he had realized that it was something he should ask, in order to seem polite.

Sakura grinned. She found herself liking his prickly character. "I lay my brain open to you." She said with a hand gesture and a grin.


	130. The Human Iceberg

A few more drinks into the night and it was Sakura who was picking at Setsuna.

"How do you do it?" She asked. She was feeling a buzz, but she wasn't so drunk that she felt fuzzy. "How can you wear a scarf and a hat in this heat and not die from overheating?" She turned to Misa. "Is it something you can all do, but you just choose to show off your bodies?"

Misa shook her head and looked at Setsuna, and Sakura turned to Setsuna for an explanation. He was silent for a moment, staring blankly at his gloved hands. After a moment he too shook his head, and explained.

"No, I am a special case. No one has been able to figure it out yet, but I was born this way – a human icepack."

Sakura snorted, but when she realized he was being quite serious she fell silent.

"My body temperature is always far lower than it should rightly be. When I was a child I was always in and out of the hospitals; they always thought I had a fever. So you see, no matter how hot Suna is, it's the best place for me; even in this heat I'm freezing."

Sakura was silent for a moment, scratching her chin and lost in thought. "A human icepack... Hm. I'd like very much to examine you one day, if you wouldn't mind." She said.

Setsuna shook his head. "Of course not."

She turned then, and grinned at Misa. "You know... that explains his character, doesn't it?"


	131. A Different Wind

Misa helped Sakura home that night and left her at the door, waving goodbye as she faded into the night with Setsuna. Sakura stared after them for a moment, wondering about their relationship, but mostly thinking about Setsuna's condition. He fascinated her; a medical anomaly – she couldn't wait to examine him.

She shook herself and let herself in to her apartment. It was eerily silent inside, especially compared to her apartment in Konoha. Konoha itself was a louder city than Suna; there were always bugs chirping, or birds calling, not to mention the constant buzzing of people and traffic at all hours of night and day. In Suna, Sakura had noticed, the most constant sound was the wind. In Konoha too, there was wind, but it wasn't the same at all. In Konoha the wind was tempered by the leaves it blew through, slowed by the thick, humid air. In Suna the wind was pure and its voice had a sharper edge to it.

Sakura stumbled forward as she realized she had been standing in the doorway, thinking about wind, for some time now. She couldn't hear it anymore from here anyway; this apartment was much more solidly built than her old one had been. The walls were too thick for any noise from the streets to filter in. She couldn't even hear her neighbours anymore.

She smiled as she fell into bed, after having peeled off her outer layer of clothing. How strange, she thought, to not hear her neighbours. How odd, not to be heard by them.

Last night the silence had kept her awake, but tonight she had no trouble falling into a deep sleep.


	132. A Fine Balance

"Did you hear? Did he go out last night?"

Kankuro stared at Temari and shook his head. "How am I supposed to know?" He asked her. "I'm not going to waste precious sleep staying awake to hear if my brother is sneaking out at night."

Temari growled in frustration. "Don't you care about what Gaara is doing? Don't you realize how big of a step this is for him?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Sure, I get it. But I don't care so much that I'll cut into wonderful sleep time to spy on him."

"It's not spying it's..." Temari trailed off, unsure of what word would be best to describe what she wanted to do for Gaara now.

"Eavesdropping?" Kankuro suggested. "Stalking? Nosing in?"

Temari frowned. "I'm just looking out for him." She argued.

Kankuro nodded. "Sure. I am too, you know. It's just that I'm looking out for me too, and I have to sleep. I can't pull off the sleep deprived look as well as Gaara."

Temari looked at Kankuro, debating whether she should be glad they had come far enough to joke about Gaara's sleepless condition, or if she should just punch Kankuro for being insensitive. She settled for a compromise. "You're right." She told Kankuro, smiling. "You're not nearly pretty enough."


	133. Sakura Has Left the Building

As she was going out to have breakfast the next morning, Sakura spotted a familiar face, and, whether unfortunately or not she couldn't decide, she was spotted in return, and Aki strode across the lobby to greet her.

"I was hoping to find you here." Aki said, smiling warmly. Sakura paused, unsure of what to expect from Aki. Their parting had been rather abrupt; Sakura hadn't even heard when Aki left her apartment, and Sakura wasn't sure if it had been on purpose or just a rush.

Sakura settled on "Good morning."

Aki bowed to Sakura, causing her to feel rather uncomfortable. "I wonder if I might speak with you." Aki asked, but before Sakura could really answer, she heard her name being called from another direction. She and Aki both looked up to see Misa by the entrance, waving. Misa trotted up to them. When she saw Aki she looked a little surprised, but she smiled just as warmly.

"Wow, I didn't think I'd see you here." Misa said. "Don't you have work to do?" She asked. When Aki frowned, Misa quickly caught herself and apologized. "Sorry! That came out badly. I've been spending too much time with Setsuna."

Aki nodded knowingly. "Right, I suppose that would affect anyone's manners." And she grinned.

Sakura stared from one to the other. Their words weren't exactly friendly, but there didn't seem to be any animosity between them; it seemed quite the opposite in fact. "You two know each other well?" Sakura asked.

Misa nodded, and Aki explained. "We're cousins."

Misa elaborated. "We've been together since we were little. We went through the academy together, and became genin together. It's only recently – since Aki got her job working for the Kazekage and I went into med school – that we've been separated. Now I hardly see her anymore." She turned to Aki and muttered. "Workaholic."

"How do you know Haruno?" Aki asked Misa.

"I'm her intern." Misa explained. She looked from Aki to Sakura then, and smiled. "Well, I was coming to pick you up for breakfast before we get to work, can you come too Aki?"

Aki nodded and they left the building.


	134. KazeMcDreamy

Somehow, of course, they ended up talking about Gaara. Sakura couldn't help laughing.

"He's very popular with the ladies here isn't he?" She said.

Misa nodded, grinning, but Aki was more reserved. "He's popular with everyone." She said. "We all admire our Kazekage."

Misa nudged Sakura. "But especially us ladies."

Sakura shook her head. "When I first met Gaara, I was actually quite terrified of him. Even after that, I never would have imagined him to be a ladies' man."

"He's not a 'ladies' man'." Aki protested. "He is very honest; I don't think he's ever approached anyone." Sakura bit her lip at that comment. She hoped he hadn't approached anyone; at least, not since he had approached her. What would Aki say, if she knew? Sakura took another look at Aki, and was surprised to see her staring right back at her. Sakura resisted squirming – maybe Aki did know something after all.

Misa went on, oblivious. "That's part of what makes him so attractive. He's so aloof. Or at least, he was. I don't know, since he returned from Konoha he's been different somehow. He's more approachable now. He doesn't seem so unattainable."

Sakura frowned in mock concern. "And does this make him less attractive?"

Misa shook her head. "Not at all. At first, his change was strange, but now that we've gotten used to him, he's somehow even more attractive than before, now that it actually seems like we might have a chance."

Aki shook her head at Misa. "You speak as though every woman in the city thinks just like you." She turned to Sakura and told her. "Misa's really just speaking for herself. She's had a crush on the Kazekage ever since he became one."

"And what about you Aki?" Misa asked in an accusing tone. "Why else did you go work for him?"

Aki shook her head. "I admire our Kazekage very much." She said. "And I care about our nation. I'm working for him because I want to protect our city and the people here, almost as much as he does."

Sakura stared at Aki for a moment, touched by the younger woman's sentiment. Aki blushed when she saw Sakura staring, and Sakura smiled at her. Sakura found her quite admirable now, after she had expressed her feelings in so noble and earnest a manner.

Misa snorted, ruining the moment. "Whatever. I know you're just there because you think he's hot; you've told me enough times you think so."

"Shut up!" Aki hissed at Misa. Sakura laughed.


	135. Choppy Water Sinks Paper Boats

She felt kind of bad throughout the day, thinking of the conversation she had had with Misa and Aki. She kept looking at Misa, wondering what she really thought of Gaara. As nice as Misa was, and as much as Sakura liked her, it was still hard to tell when the girl was being serious. She wondered, what would Misa say if she found out Sakura and Gaara were in a relationship? What would all the other women of Suna say?

She agonized through her visits and meetings, wondering what would be the best thing to do. Would it be better to reveal her relationship now, or to wait and test the waters more? What if she and Gaara split? Then she would look foolish that's for sure. And so would he, and that would be worse.

She thought and thought, and all this thinking about it made her miss Gaara. Why hadn't he come to see her lately? He was the one who had brought her to Suna in order to see her all the time; why was he ignoring her now?


	136. Please Just Stay

Gaara was still at his desk late at night when Temari decided she'd had enough and she was going home. Tonight, Kankuro too decided to go home with her.

Gaara wanted to stay and do more work. He knew if he went home he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Lately he had been feeling pathetic; unable to sleep without her, staying awake for hours thinking of her. He found this behaviour disturbing. He didn't like the thought that he was dependant on another for peace of mind.

But he couldn't escape it; without her he felt useless and distracted. He wanted to work more to keep his mind off her, and his strange feebleness.

Temari stood by the door and stared at him for a second before rapping her knuckles against the doorframe.

"Gaara, go home." She said. Gaara looked up and peered at her, but made no move. "I'm serious." She told him. "You need to come home with us right now. I will not allow you to spend another night in the office. This is getting seriously unhealthy. You need to take a break."

Gaara sighed and nodded. "Yes alright. Just wait a minute and I'll walk with you guys." He pushed himself up from his desk and after tidying a bit joined Temari and Kankuro outside.

He took a deep breath of the cool night air as he stepped outside. It was a nice night; he hoped she was out inn the city somewhere, enjoying it as well. He wanted her to love Suna. He wanted her to stay.

That's what he wanted. He just wanted her to stay with him.


	137. And Smile Every Day

Back to his bed and another sleepless night he supposed.

But when he saw that his bed was occupied he stopped caring whether he would sleep or not.

Sakura huffed when she saw him enter and sat up on her elbows. "It's about time!" She said. "What are you doing out so late? Haven't I told you before that working too much will endanger your health? Do you listen to nothing I say?"

Gaara shook his head. "Not the words." He said, grinning a little. "I just like the sound of your voice." He moved across the room to sit beside her, but she pulled him into her arms and kissed him. And somehow, everything seemed all right again. Such an inconvenient situation she had him in.

"Why didn't you come see me?" She asked. "Do you know how hard it is to sneak into the Kazekage's room? Far harder than it would be to sneak into a mere diplomat's room I'm sure."

Gaara laughed. "I thought you didn't want me around right now. To avoid suspicion, or whatever."

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry. I suppose that was my fault. I don't really know what I want; but I know I don't want you avoiding me, and I don't want to have to sneak in here anymore. So you come see me in my room ok?"

Gaara nodded. "Deal."

Sakura smiled and pulled Gaara down into a horizontal position. "I was talking with Misa and Aki this morning." She said, and pinched his cheek. "You're quite the ladies' man aren't you?"

Gaara shrugged. "I don't really know." He answered honestly.

Sakura laughed. That was it, that was what he had been waiting for.

"I want to see you laugh more." He told her. "I like when you're smiling."

"You too." Sakura replied. "I like when you smile." She pulled his lips into a smile with her fingers and laughed. And Gaara, though he felt ridiculous, realized he didn't mind one bit, as long as she was smiling.


	138. Little Devil

"You're in a good mood today." Misa commented. They were sitting in a hospital cafeteria, having a coffee break. Today Sakura was attending classes, and would be for a week now, to make a report at the end of the week on what she thought of their training program. She found the classes a little dry in their presentation, but easy to follow and learn from, which was really the important thing. In any case, she really was in a good mood, and inclined to find everything good today.

Sakura smiled at Misa. "I'm always in a good mood." She told her.

Misa grinned. "That may be, but you're in an especially good mood today. Something good happened last night?"

Sakura bit back a laugh, and tried to keep from blushing. "Maybe. I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Alright." Misa said, holding up in hands in defeat. "Fine. You don't have to tell me anything." She then proceeded to stare at Sakura, grinning impishly.

Sakura tried to ignore her, but she couldn't, and finally ended up bursting into laughter. "Stop it you little fiend!" She told Misa. "Leave me alone. Come on, there must be something else you want to talk about."


	139. Sisterly Discomfort

They were having a meeting with the elders, and other important people of the city. At the moment, Gaara was sitting quietly, listening to a man speaking on the issue of inner city construction and repairs necessary to older buildings.

Temari was staring at Gaara, trying to figure out why he looked so different today.

She leaned over and whispered in Kankuro's ear. "Are you watching Gaara? What's he up to?"

Kankuro spent a moment studying Gaara and then grinned a little, trying not to be obvious when a serious matter was being discussed at the table. He leaned towards Temari and answered in the same tone. "I think our dear little brother got laid."

Temari frowned at Kankuro, and turned back to Gaara. She suppressed a laugh. Kankuro was right! She wasn't really sure what to think about that. It was good that Gaara's relationship was going well enough for... that. But it was so weird to think of her little brother in that way. Maybe it was because she was his sister, or maybe it was just because of who he was, but never had Temari imagined Gaara would be in a situation like that.

Now that she was thinking it, she felt a little embarrassed.


	140. A Lifetime to Adjust

Temari sat across from Sakura, staring at her through the steam rising off her tea. She had arranged this meeting with Sakura to see how the other woman was fitting in in Suna, or at least, that's what she had told Sakura. The real reason she wanted to talk to Sakura was to see how Sakura felt about her relationship with Gaara. Temari still wasn't sure what to think of the pink haired nin who was currently shagging her brother.

She shuddered a little at the thought. Not that she thought it was disgusting, it was still an idea too foreign to be disgusting. Three days ago when Kankuro had first suggested that Sakura and Gaara were sleeping together, Temari had been surprised, but she'd had time to think about it since then. There was really no reason for her to surprised; after all, Gaara and Sakura had been living together for months, and she knew that Gaara had been visiting Sakura at night.

But though she had been thinking about it, she still couldn't get over the initial weirdness of it all.

"...he seems like an interesting character, but his physiology is even more interesting. I'm quite looking forward to taking a look at him; he's agreed to meet me next week for a check up." Sakura was saying. She paused for a moment to regard Temari with wry amusement. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't what you want to hear about?"

Temari smiled ruefully. "Sorry. I am interested, really, it's just that there are other things on my mind."

"Work?" Sakura asked.

Temari shook her head, and then nodded. "Well, yes, but that's not it. I mean, I really wanted to ask you how things were going with my brother."

Sakura glanced around quickly and then leaned in closer to Temari. "I'd be happy to talk more about your brother, but I'd rather not talk about it here."

Temari too glanced around, noticing how busy the cafe had become since they had first arrived. She nodded. "Of course. Would you like to come back to our place to talk more?"

Sakura nodded. "Sure. Why not?"


	141. Maybe Don't Drink That Third Beer

**So how's it going? I know it's been a long time. And don't expect me to be updating regularly again now; I still have school for another month, which doesn't leave me with much time to write and/or update. The lack of internet on my computer doesn't help either. But in a month or so, I should be back to regular updates.**

**This thing has become much longer than I ever expected it to be. Hope I'm not boring anyone. :) Cheers.**

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Why not? Why not she had said. She could think of several reasons why not to go with Temari. She wasn't really sure she wanted to talk more with Temari about Gaara. When she had told Temari she'd love to talk more about Gaara she had by no means expected Temari to invite her home to talk more about it. When Temari had done so, she hadn't had enough presence of mind to come up with an excuse to say no.

So here she was, sitting in the Sand Siblings' living room, staring at the photos on the wall while Temari got beer and snacks for them. She felt a pitiful gurgling in her stomach – a sign that she was stressed. Of course she was; what was she supposed to say to Gaara's sister about him? There was no way she was going into detail about their love life; she'd die of embarrassment.

Too soon Temari returned and handed Sakura a beer. She sat on the couch beside Sakura, putting down a tray of snacks on the coffee table. "So." She said. "You and my brother."

Sakura nodded. "So it would seem."

Temari grinned. "Tell me about it; how are things between you two?"

Sakura gulped down a mouthful of beer. She felt she could use the help. "Good." She answered nervously.

"Good, good." Temari said, taking a swig of her own beer. She tilted her head and observed Sakura for a moment, before asking, "How did you two get together anyway? I mean, I figure it happened while he was in Konoha, but how'd it happen? Who asked who first?"

"Well..." Sakura took a deep breath, and told Temari the whole story.

A few beers later she and Temari had loosened up considerably, and were laughing together about the whole thing.

"I still can't get used to it!" Temari exclaimed loudly. "You and my little brother! I never thought I'd live to see the day that _anyone_ would be shagging my brother!"

"Shagging?" Sakura giggled. "Is that what you call it? I like that!"

Temari grabbed Sakura's elbow and leaned in closer, asking in a voice to loud to be conspiratorial, "Okay, but seriously, who's on top?"

Sakura blushed and laughed too loudly. She was drunk, and she had a niggling feeling that maybe it wasn't such a great idea. "I don't know; we switch it up." She answered, turning away and hiding her face in her hand as she erupted into hysterical giggles.

Temari made a disgusted face and leaned back on the couch. "I shouldn't have asked." She said, and shook her head at herself.

Sakura too leaned back, and they sat in silence for a moment. "But, you know," Sakura said at last, "I would have been happy if I had had his child."

Temari sat bolt upright. "If you had had his child?" She demanded. "What does that mean? Do you mean...? I don't know! What do you mean?"

Sakura flushed. Her stupid big, drunken mouth! Why couldn't it stay shut? "It doesn't mean anything!" She lid.

Temari narrowed her eyes. "Yes it does. You're lying to me! Tell me!"

Sakura hook her head, but Temari insisted. Sakura stared at her hands. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's gone."

Temari's face lost it's gleeful expression as she watched Sakura. "It's gone? Oh Sakura, don't tell me..." She put her hand on Sakura's shoulder, not really knowing how to comfort another person.

Sakura shrugged. "It's okay. I'm used to it. It wasn't the right time for it anyway."

"Does Gaara know?" Temari asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I haven't told him. I mean, how am I supposed to tell him he got me pregnant, and then I lost the child?"

A cool male voice answered, surprising Sakura out of her drunken misery. She sat up and turned to stare at Gaara, standing in the doorway, watching her with an unreadable expression. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore." He said.


	142. Please Work On Your Sense Of Timing

"Temari, do you think I could talk with Sakura alone for a moment?" Gaara asked calmly, not taking his eyes off Sakura. Temari stood up, stared from one to the other, and quickly nodded and left the room. Sakura didn't blame her for making her escape; she'd have liked to do the same.

As soon as Temari left Sakura jumped to her feet and tried to explain. "It's not what it sounds like-" She started to lie, but Gaara held up his hand.

"I don't know how it can be anything other than what it sounds like." He said. "It sounded pretty obvious to me." When Sakura stared at him with an anguished expression he crossed the room to stand close to her. "Please sit down. I think we need to talk."

Sakura sat. She was nervously wringing her hands, so Gaara took them in his own to hold her still. "When did this happen?" He asked. He wanted to hear her say it again because even though he had said it was obvious, it still didn't quite make sense to him.

"When you came back to Konoha after the seals had been removed – I found out I was pregnant then." She said.

"Pregnant with my child." Gaara said, trying to confirm the fact to himself.

"Of course." Sakura answered, trying to smile. "Who's else would it be? Do you think I'm a floozy or something? I'd hoped you thought better of me."

Gaara squeezed her hand. He was pretty sure she was joking, but he wanted to be sure she didn't believe what she said. "I don't think you're a floozy, whatever that is. It's just... pretty unbelievable."

Sakura smiled. "I know." She said. She felt tears building up behind her eyes, but she refused to cry. She was already over the loss of the child; she had cried all the tears she needed to cry for it. "I had a hard time believing it myself."

Gaara frowned. "But then... what happened? Why didn't you tell me then? I would have... I don't know. I wouldn't have left."

Sakura frowned. "I found out the day you left. I saw you driving away just as I was returning from the doctor. And then I thought, I shouldn't burden you with it, with me... And then I lost it, and you weren't there, and I thought – well, I was relieved really. It was stupid; all these plans I had made. I would become a single mother, and raise the child alone... Stupid."

Gaara frowned. "Raise it alone? Why would you be alone?"

Sakura sighed. She wondered if Gaara could tell how hard she was trying not to cry. He certainly wasn't making it any easier. "Because you wouldn't be there. You were off in Suna, looking after a country. You wouldn't have time to look after a child with me."

Gaara let go of her hands and turned away slightly, staring at his hands, now resting in his lap. Sakura watched him, trying to figure out his thoughts, but to no avail; she couldn't read his face.

He was thinking how much he wished Sakura would just realize that he was now dependent on her, to an extent, for his happiness. That he... well, that he loved her. She didn't seem to be getting it; at this rate he might have to say it out loud. He didn't know if he could do that; he wouldn't know how. He was thinking that Sakura had almost had a child, and that child would have been his as well. What would that have been like, he wondered. He couldn't quite get his head around the idea. If they had had a child, he would hope it was like Sakura. The world didn't need another one of him.

He looked up again, and was dismayed to see that Sakura was crying. When she saw he was looking she quickly wiped her cheeks. "Shit! I'm sorry." She muttered. "I wasn't going to cry. I mean... Sorry. Sorry."

"I'm sorry. I love you." Gaara blurted out. For a moment Sakura stared at him, before she finally smiled again.

"You're sorry that you love me?" She asked. "Or did that just come out wrong?"

Gaara nodded. "That came out wrong. I am sorry, and I do... you know."

Sakura couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Gaara was blushing! She felt so much love for him at that moment, seeing him so nervous, unable to even repeat the words. It was so unlike any confession she would have imagined; it was so Gaara. She reached out and pulled him towards him to kiss her, but before their lips touched he spoke.

"What should I do then?" He asked.

Sakura pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, what should you do?"

"I mean, I got you pregnant, and then... What am I supposed to do about that?"

Sakura smiled as comfortingly as she could. "There's nothing to be done about it now. Just as long as you know, and you're not mad-"

"I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?"

"-then we just have to move on." Sakura went on as though she hadn't been interrupted. She appreciated that he was trying to clear up the situation and make her feel better, but right now, she just wanted to kiss Gaara. Why did he always pick the wrong moments to be chatty?

"Oh. Ok." He finally agreed, and Sakura finally got her kiss.


	143. A Little Clarification

"You really meant it then, that you would be happy to have my child?" Gaara asked, once Sakura would let him come up for air. "You wouldn't be disgusted?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Gaara. If I'm putting myself in a situation to be having children with you, don't you think that answers your question?"

Gaara was silent for a moment, and then he smiled. "I suppose that's true."

Sakura nodded and for a minute they sat silently, staring into space, each thinking their own thoughts. Then suddenly Sakura shook herself and turned to Gaara. "Wait. Why do you ask?" She asked suspiciously. "Not because you want to have children or anything right? Because when I said I would have been happy to have your child, I didn't mean I wanted to have children now. Or ever, necessarily. Just that it wouldn't have been so terrible, you know that right?"

Gaara repressed a smile. "So you don't want to have my child." He teased. "You're just a liar."

"No, that's not what I meant. It's just not a good time _at all._ I mean, maybe, _maybe, _one day I'll be ready, but right now is just the wrong time. Completely."

Gaara allowed his smile to surface. "Once again you misinterpret my words and take them too far. I didn't mean much of anything by it. I'm just happy that you would even think that way. No need to freak out."

Sakura sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Okay good. Well that's a relief."

Gaara looked at the window and closed his eyes, and for a moment just sat there, listening to their hearts beat.


	144. Just Take a Deep Breath

Sakura fell into bed that night feeling elated. Gaara was in love with her. She flipped onto her stomach and screamed into her pillow. He said he loved her! She flipped back onto her back and waved her legs in the air. She was too excited to sleep. She felt there was a kind of glow to the night tonight, and she didn't want to miss it. She didn't want to miss anything anymore. Everything felt magical, and precious, and she just wanted to live.

'Stop it.' She chided herself. 'You're a serious woman, a ninja. You shouldn't go crazy just because a man told you he loves you. I mean, it's good – it's great! – but it's not the end of the world, nor is it the beginning for that matter. So just calm down. Please.'

She couldn't.


	145. A Cheerful, Easy Day

"Did you get any sleep last night Sakura?" Misa asked, smirking at her.

Sakura shook her head. "No."

Misa grinned. "A good night then." She said, and leaned towards Sakura. "When are you going to tell me who your mystery man is?" She asked.

Sakura was quiet a moment. She considered telling Misa right there, but decided against it. Misa was too excitable, and they were in too public a place. And she still didn't feel sure she could stand up to the probable backlash she'd get from the Suna women, so she just shook her head. "Not today."

She looked up to see Atsuo walking across the hall to meet them. He smiled warmly when he saw Sakura watching him. Sakura responded in kind. Atsuo was there to send her home. Today was her last day observing classes, and she would have to write a report tonight.

"But first, shall we have a coffee?" Atsuo suggested.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "That would be great. I'll need the caffeine."


	146. Another Assignment:A Chance to Show Off

A few days later, once Sakura had finished her report, and had been in a sort of limbo as far as work went, she was asked if she would teach Suna's medics the technique she had used to remove the seals from Gaara when he had been attacked. She was set up in a lecture hall, explaining the procedure to medics she didn't really feel right teaching.

But she had long ago learned that everyone had something to teach, no matter how unlikely it might seem.

With a black marker she circled the points that had been sealed in Gaara's body on a diagram. When she stood back to look it over, she was amazed at how dark the diagram was. One hundred seals was a lot. The other medics in the room seemed impressed as well. Someone even whistled.

"But how is that even possible?" One of the medics asked. "There couldn't have been enough time to perform so many seals on the Kazekage – that kind of operation would require weeks."

Sakura looked out at her audience, to her diagram, and back to the speaker. She shrugged. "How the assassin managed to perform so many seals in such a short period, I could not tell you. I_ can _tell you that it took months to remove, and a lot of patience."

There was a murmur of assent, and Sakura got down to the nitty gritty details of the operation.


	147. A Whole New World

Misa stared at Sakura as she munched on her hamburger. Sakura frowned as she watched Mina. How was it that she managed to look so cute, even scarfing down a burger? Sakura could hardly manage to look girly when she was trying, let alone when she was eating. Having Misa as an intern was sometimes quite demoralizing.

"You know, you're very impressive." Misa said around a mouthful of meat and tomato.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and pushed her mashed potatoes around her plate. "How's that?" She wondered out loud.

"I mean, figuring out those seals like you did, and knowing which ones to remove and when. You make it sound so easy – and you seem to think it is." Misa said. Sakura shrugged, and Misa went on. "Maybe you don't realize how difficult what you did was, but I'd say out of all the medics in that room today, not even half would be able to tell which seals to remove. And I'm not one of them."

Sakura grinned sourly. "Yes, well I have been told that I'm a genius."

Misa grunted. "Look happier about it would you? That's a compliment you know?"

Sakura laughed. "I know." She assured Misa. "I'm not ungrateful for my brains. It's just that sometimes, in the world outside of medicine, my brain doesn't help me at all. Outside of the world of medicine, I find it hard sometimes to function."

Misa was silent for a moment, chewing. Then she swallowed, and asked, "There's a world outside of medicine?"


	148. A Moonlit Moment

"Come with me."

Gaara led her out of her room, through the dreaming city, and out into the desert. The air was like crystal; the wind was sharp and smelled of mystery. When the sand slowed her down, he picked her up and they traveled on a cloud of sand.

The moon was smiling, listening to the stars' laughter.

When at last they stopped it was so quiet she could hear their hearts beat, not quite in unison, an irregular rhythm.

He walked down the side of a dune, and she followed.

"Here." He said and pointed to a small cactus nestled in between the soft sands of the dunes and a stone cliff, rising from the desert. He sat down beside it, and motioned for her to join him.

They waited.

As the moon rose to sit directly above them the cactus peeled back its green exterior, revealing pale blue insides, glowing in the moonlight.

That night she felt she could stay in the desert forever, in this moment, frozen in glass, pressurized sand. That was the night she fell in love with the desert.


	149. It's So Strange,You Have a Personal Life

"Wow." Sakura gasped. "This is amazing!"

"So I've been told before." Setsuna said flatly, clearly unimpressed by her medical opinion. Sakura made a face at the back of his head and told him to put his shirt back on.

As he was pulling on a sweater, and then wrapping a scarf around his neck, Sakura grabbed his file and took a seat on a stool beside him. "Your chakra is like ice." She mused, mostly to herself. "I've never seen anything like it."

"No one has – I'm one of a kind." Setsuna told her, though with no pride in his voice. Not even a trace of amusement.

"And you say you were born this way?" Sakura asked.

Setsuna nodded. "I wasn't always so cold, but yes... When I was born they thought I was dead; a frozen baby. Until I started screaming."

Sakura nodded. She stared at his records. It was fascinating. He had been examined by all the doctors in Suna it seemed, and yet no one could figure out what it was that made his chakra this way. Sakura frowned. She couldn't see it either. Not yet. She intended to find out.

"Can you fix it?" Setsuna asked.

Sakura jerked her head up in surprise. "Fix it? You think this is something that needs 'fixing'? This condition is a problem you think?"

Setsuna was silent for a moment before answering. "It presents... certain difficulties in my personal life."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Personal life?"

Setsuna nodded. "I do have a personal life, as hard as that may be to believe, considering my personality."

Sakura grinned. At least he knew himself. She pulled her stool a little closer to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No." Setsuna answered bluntly.

"Not even a little?" Sakura pleaded.

"Not in the least."

"Fine."

Setsuna stood to go, realizing that Sakura had no more medical procedures to perform. "So can you fix it or not?" He asked again.

Sakura looked at his medical forms again, and then looked him the eye to answer him straight. "I don't know. Let me take another look through your medical history and think on it some more. I'll let you know if I come up with anything."

Setsuna nodded. "Yes." He went to the door, and added, as a sort of afterthought. "Thank you."


	150. A Dream of Walking

That night she dreamed of the desert and the moon. The moon lit a silvery road in the sands, lighting the way for her to return home. She walked for hours and days and weeks, the dry wind of the desert blowing through her hair. She thought; 'Even when I return to Konoha, I'll never get the smell of the desert out of my skin.'

The sand was cool under her feet. She stopped for a moment to wriggle her toes, feeling the sand trickling between her toes and burying her feet. She stepped in a circle, dragging her feet behind her, enjoying the feel of the sand against her skin.

She thought; 'What if I never return?'


	151. Press Conferences Are

She was starting to feel homesick . She was tired of sunshine. Every. Single. Day. She supposed it was okay for people like Misa, eternally cheerful, tanned to perfection, but Sakura was not one of those people. She was pasty, and she still burned, and she wasn't cheerful every freaking minute of the day, and she just wanted it to goddamn rain.

"Are you alright?" Misa asked.

Sakura nodded absently. "Oh yes, I'm fine. Just a little grumpy today. PMS."

Misa nodded knowingly. As if PMS could ever conquer her cheerfulness. "Being female's a bitch sometimes." She commiserated.

Aki leaned over and smacked Misa on the shoulder to shut her up. Misa turned and frowned at her cousin, and then concentrated on Gaara again.

At the moment they were all attending a press conference. Sakura and Misa were sitting in the second row, along with the members of the medical committee, and behind them Setsuna. Aki was seated in the front row with Temari and Kankuro, and all those other important political people of Suna.

Sakura didn't really care. Of course, she was committing everything to memory, sure she would have to write a report of her own to send back to Konoha (Tsunade didn't really trust reporters, and with good reason. You should never trust anyone who tells stories for a living. In fact, never trust anyone at all. Stories are too flexible, too easy to manipulate) but that didn't mean she was really interested in what Gaara was saying. Mostly she was just listening to the sound of his voice. Since that night he had taken her out into the desert to see a flower bloom she hadn't seen much of Gaara. He had been locked up with his advisors and other political personages, working on this new proposal, something about water distribution. She hadn't really talked to him in days; she really wanted to touch him.

Maybe that was what had her so grumpy.

She noted that Gaara wasn't a great speaker. He had a great voice and all, but he wasn't exactly inspirational, not in his speeches. He was too straight forward to do that. She tried to imagine him giving an inspirational speech, full of rhetoric and anecdotes and metaphor, but it was very hard. He kept giving up halfway through a beautiful sentence and explaining his thoughts very plainly.

Sakura smiled. Well, at least in her thoughts she could talk to him, and cheer herself up.


	152. Someone Out Of the Ordinary

"There, do you see that layering, one on top of the other?" Sakura asked her pupil. She was still trying to teach some medics how she had taken care of the hundred seals placed on Gaara. As it turned out, it was a much harder thing to do than she had at first thought. Spending so much time with Tsunade had sometimes made her forget that she was what they called a medical genius – she had forgotten that she wasn't the norm.

The medic – his name was Natsuhiko – frowned and shook his head. "I can see it now, when there are only two seals, but how am I supposed to see it when there are ten of them layered on top of each other in a big confusing mess?" He asked.

"Concentrate very hard." Sakura told him. He sighed, and Sakura shrugged. She knew that it wasn't very helpful, but it was the only advice she could give; it was the only way she knew how to figure it out. It's what she had done. "Just keep trying." She told him. "When you go home tonight do some concentration exercises, do some chakra identifying exercises, and try again tomorrow. It just takes time is all."

He nodded. "I know. I'll do that."

Sakura smiled and patted him on the back. "Good. You know you're actually doing very well; this really isn't an easy thing to do."

Natsuhiko laughed. "I know that very well." He said.

Sakura left him to his work and, seeing that no one else in the class was in dire trouble, she turned to staring out the window at the blue, cloudless sky.

She sighed.


	153. So You're The One

The sun was beating down brightly on Suna. Sakura stared out the window and wondered if this was normal – to go for so long without any rain at all. She supposed it must be. After all, this was a desert; what had she expected?

Misa tapped Sakura's forehead to get her attention back. "Hello? Sakura, are you in there? Have you made any progress with Setsuna?"

Sakura blinked and focused on Misa. "Setsuna? Uh, no not really. I just can't figure it out. There's no history of this sort of thing happening. I have nothing to compare it to. Unless you know anything – is Setsuna really a descendant of Suna families? Are there outside ties?"

Misa frowned. "I'm not sure. You didn't ask him?"

Sakura shrugged. "I figured they'd have his family history accurately recorded in his records, but now that I'm coming up empty I need to find something to blame."

Misa sighed. "No progress then."

Sakura shook her head. "Nope." At Misa's downcast look a thought occurred to Sakura, and she grinned wickedly at the other woman. "You're Setsuna's personal life!" She exclaimed.

Misa's eyes widened comically and she spluttered. "What?"

Sakura nodded excitedly. "Oh my god I'm right! I'm never right about these things, but I'm right this time! And you said you had no life outside of medicine!" She accused.

Misa nodded, acknowledging Sakura's charge to be true. "Well, come on. It's not like dating Setsuna is really much outside of medicine."

Sakura laughed. "I guess not." She leaned forward to ask in a conspiratorial tone. "So what is the trouble with his condition and personal life anyway?"

Misa blushed. "It's not what you're thinking. I wouldn't even know. The problem is that we can't even get to that point. We can't even kiss or touch each other for very long, because I'll get frostbite, or he'll get burns."

Sakura leaned back. "Oh." She tried to imagine being unable to touch Gaara. Being unable to kiss him for prolonged periods of time. She frowned. She loved spooning with Gaara! "That _is_ a problem! That's it! I'm even more determined now than I was before. Misa!" Sakura declared. "For the sake of your young love, I, Haruno Sakura, will try my best to fix your boyfriend's problem!"

Misa grinned ruefully. "That's great and all..." She said, "but did you really have to announce so loudly that my boyfriend has a 'problem'?"


	154. Why Does Anybody Do This?

"But seriously, Setsuna?"

Misa nodded. "Yes."

"Really? I mean, I'm not trying to be rude, but I am being rude, I know. I just want to know, why?"

Misa shrugged. "Because he's so prickly, but he means so well. And he's really cute when he'd trying to be nice. And he's really nice when he cares. Because he cares. And under all those clothes he's really very attractive. We grew up together; I've always liked him."

Sakura nodded. "Wow. I think I have a bit of a crush on him now."

"Well you can't have him; he's mine."


	155. See, Gaara is an Optimist

Gaara was working late, alone in his office when the door opened. He looked up expecting to see an intern taking their leave, or Temari, come to tell him to go home, but was happy to see a pink haired woman standing in his doorway.

"Hey." She said, waiting by the door as if waiting for him to let her in.

"Hey."

When she didn't move, he waved her in. "Take a seat." He told her, waving to a chair. "I'll be done in a minute."

Sakura sat down with a loud sigh. "Are you serious?" She asked.

Gaara looked up at her, and she cracked a smile. "Of course you're serious." She said, mostly to herself. "You're Gaara."

"What is it now?" He asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, you know... It's late at night, an attractive young woman walks into your office, come with the purpose to see you, and you tell her to take a seat in a chair across the room. You don't have a romantic bone in you, do you?"

"I wouldn't know how to tell one bone from the other." Gaara responded drily. "I'm not the medic here."

Sakura was silent for a moment, and then she laughed. Gaara felt himself relaxing. He had been too busy to see much of her lately, and he had been missing her calming influence. He was really starting to be vexed by her insistence that no one know about their relationship. At least if it was out in the open then he could easily see her, if only for a few moments, every day.

The room was quiet for a moment as Gaara finished reading this latest building proposal and signed it.

"So we're not going to have sex on your desk?" Sakura asked.

Gaara looked up, a little surprised at the suggestion, but mostly amused. He took a look at his desk – on one side, important documents he had yet to look at, on the other, important documents he had looked at. An old, half full cup of coffee sat on the desk by his elbow. He imagined for a moment, sweeping it all off and onto the floor to indulge Sakura's fantasy.

"The coffee would leave a stain on the carpet." He said practically. "And it would probably smell for a few days. And it would be hell sorting out all these papers again. But if you really want to, I'm all for it."

Sakura sighed. "Well that just ruined it for me completely, thank you. Really, I don't know why I love you."

"But you do?"

Sakura grinned at Gaara. "I do. I really do."

Gaara stood, and Sakura stood too, still grinning. "Let's get out of here then, before I do something my interns would really regret."


	156. You Have No Experience

Sakura held Gaara close. She wanted to hold him all night, all day, for the rest of her life. She thought of Misa and Setsuna, unable to touch, and she kind of wanted to cry. She squeezed Gaara tighter.

"What do you know of Setsuna?" She asked.

Gaara frowned. "Why are you asking me about another man while we're in bed? Isn't that that not allowed or something?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. It's perfectly allowed. You don't know anything about the rules of love, so you don't get to say anything. Tell me what you know about Setsuna."

Gaara shrugged. "He's a good medic, from what I've heard. Temari likes him; she says he reminds her of me. I don't think that's good, but she doesn't seem to agree."

Sakura smiled. "I don't agree with you too."

Gaara shook his head. "You're both impossible. I don't know; what do you want to know about Setsuna?"

"Where does he come from? Are his parents from Suna? Does he have ancestors from elsewhere? The north perhaps?"

Gaara was quiet for a moment, thinking. "No. Not to my knowledge."

Sakura frowned. "Nor to anyone else's. There goes that idea."

They were silent. Gaara thought Sakura had drifted off to sleep for a moment, but then she spoke.

"Hey Gaara?"

"Yes?"

"You know what I was thinking about today? I was thinking about that time you tried to make supper for me. That was a spectacular failure."

"Yes so?"

Sakura smiled. "So it was fun. When we lived together; I was really happy then." She realized how that sounded and rushed to correct herself. "Not that I'm not happy now! I just mean that, back in the apartment together, that was good too."

She winced at her stupidity, waiting for Gaara to respond. She could feel his chest rising and falling, and it was lulling her to sleep, so that she was already half asleep when Gaara finally answered. "Me too."


	157. It Was a Painful Night

Gaara's doctor stood back in surprise. "How did you get that?" He asked, pointing to the bruise blooming across Gaara's ribcage.

Gaara looked down. Sakura had been rather violent in her sleep last night, culminating in one ferocious elbow attack to his ribs before she finally quieted down and let him sleep. He frowned. "Sparring with Temari." He lied. He liked that the lack of emotion in his voice made it very easy for him to lie. "I've been spending too much time at my desk lately."

His doctor shook his head. "You siblings are a little too hard on each other sometimes. But who am I to tell the Kazekage what to do?"


	158. Epiphanetic

She woke up sweating. She always woke up sweating here in Suna; it was hot _all_ the time. But this time it was different. She felt like she had had an epiphany while sleeping.

She hated having epiphanies while asleep. It was so hard to remember them when she woke up.

She finally remembered that afternoon while she was instructing a class. More like, instead of remembering, she re-experienced that same epiphany.

What if it was that simple? Not easy – but so simple? Just like it had been with Gaara, maybe this time it would be the same.

She scheduled an appointment with Setsuna.


	159. So This Could Kill You

"It's probably very dangerous. And it might hurt a lot. And it almost certainly won't be a permanent cure. But I think it'll work."

Setsuna stared at Sakura in silence for a moment. Sakura smiled, trying to look encouraging. He looked dubious about the idea, and she completely understood. She was a little dubious about the idea herself. But she still thought it would work.

Finally he nodded. "If you think it will work, then I put myself in your hands. You know much more on the subject than I do."

Sakura felt a little nervous flutter in her stomach. Was it really ok? Could he put so much faith in her so easily, and could she really accept that trust?

She supposed, given the situation, she didn't have much choice.


	160. But I Think It Will Work

She hated fire. It just wasn't her element. Sasuke had been so good with it that when she was a girl she thought it would be easy to work with; until the first time she tried her own fireball and it exploded in her face.

But she had always been persistent. She didn't have much going for her, but she did have stubbornness, and that was the only reason she was here today. She was damn stubborn. So stubborn she had worked with fire every day for a long time, trying to get used to it. She knew she would never be easy with it, nothing compared to what Sasuke had been as a child even, but when that got her down she only had to remind herself that Sasuke was a natural genius, and she would go on.

So she was comfortable enough with fire now to be doing this procedure. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Setsuna lay on the table, shivering with his chest exposed to the air. Sakura put a hand on his chest and looked down into his chakra. It was so cold, she felt like her fingers were icing up. So cold she would get frostbite if she stayed in contact with him for too long.

She didn't think of Misa. She didn't think of Setsuna or herself. She thought only of the procedure, the cold, the heat. It was simple; if his chakra was frozen, then all it needed was a little fire.


	161. It's Called An Inferiority Complex

Misa stared at Sakura in astonishment. "You sent fire down his veins and... and _thawed_ out his core?"

Sakura nodded and smiled. "As simple as that."

"As simple as that!" Misa yelled, laughing. "As simple as that she says! Do you know how dangerous that is? What kind of precision – if it had gone wrong..."

Sakura patted Misa's head as the girl paled at the thought. "Nothing went wrong. I'm sorry I did such a risky thing to your boyfriend without asking your permission first, but I wanted to try it at soon as possible and get him back to you."

Misa sighed. "You're insane." She told Sakura, and hugged the other girl. "Thank you so much. You don't even know how crazy what you've done is, or how awesome."

Sakura frowned. "But it's only temporary. I'm not entirely sure, but I think his chakra will ice over again. I still haven't figured out what it is that makes him that way. I mean, I haven't done that much."

Misa squeezed Sakura even tighter, squeezing the air out of her lungs. "Oh shut up. You expect too much of yourself; it's embarrassing to us normal people."

Sakura smiled and relaxed a little. Misa was right, even though Sakura was still a little peeved that she hadn't actually figured it out yet. She had been really nervous before doing the procedure, and once it was finished she had realized the danger again, and was still feeling a little shaky, wondering why she had done such a dangerous thing. She could have killed Setsuna. She didn't want to think about it. She hugged Misa.

"If I had a little sister she'd be just like you." Sakura said, trying to think of other things.

Misa laughed. "If you had a little sister she'd have a huge complex about her smarter older sister."


	162. A Good Reason To Celebrate

That night they went out and partied, to celebrate Setsuna's 'recovery'. Sakura didn't like being cheered on for doing something so temporary, but she was happy to see Setsuna and Misa together. They held hands all night, never letting go.

She laughed a little to see Setsuna that way. Misa was even more cheerful than ever, but Setsuna was Setsuna, whether his heart was frozen or not. He wore less clothing than usual that night, but he still acted as cold as ever.

But not once did he let go of Misa's hand.

Temari and Aki joined them later in the night. "I hear you're a real whiz kid." Temari told Sakura, grinning as she took a seat next to her, pushing someone else aside in order to do so. She looked up as the server came over and ordered two drinks. Aki was about to order her own when Temari stopped her.

"No, no dear. I bought the second for you. You deserve a drink after today." She told Aki. Aki smiled and thanked her.

"Tough day at work?" Sakura asked.

Temari sighed. "Someone leaked infrastructure plans to the reporters. They weren't happy with a lot of things; we've been trying all day to explain that it's not a finalized plan, but they just want to tear someone apart." She leaned in closer to Sakura. "Unfortunately for Aki, she's kind of an easy target, being young and relatively unexperienced." Temari leaned back and threw up her hands. "But let's forget that! We're here because you're awesome, and Setsuna's better! Let's drink!"


	163. Put It On My Tab Ok?

Temari went home with Aki, Aki having the unfortunate job of taking care of her drunken boss. Sakura sent them off with sympathy for the girl; she too knew how it felt having to look after a boss who drank too much.

She went home by herself, feeling a little jealous of Setsuna and Misa. She felt so old, so alone, when she should have had someone. She wanted to hold hands with Gaara in public. Why did it have to be Gaara? Why did he have to be Kazekage?

She missed him.

When she dropped into bed she was startled to hear a grunt, a grunt not from her own body, but from another body in her bed. She jumped on the figure, half in hopes of who it might be, but mostly as a survival instinct – with her fist poised to crush the throat.

When her hopes were answered she laughed and hugged her captive. "Gaara! What are you doing sleeping in my bed?"

Gaara blinked at her, still not quite awake. Having not slept for some nights, he had fallen into a deep sleep before being so rudely awakened. "I was sleeping actually." He said, and turned on his side. "And very much enjoying myself. Go away."

Sakura laughed and did the opposite; she snuggled into his back, waking him up even more. Gaara laughed and turned around. "Where have you been out this late?" He asked, playing the nagging housewife. "I've been waiting for you for hours!"

"Didn't you hear?" She asked. "I fixed Setsuna. We all went out partying. You should have come; Temari was there."

"Oh. I thought she was just bringing Aki out for a drink after the rough day we'd had." He shrugged. "Oh well; I appreciated the sleep I got more than any drinking. When we go out I always end up having to keep you out of fights."

"Oh yes, very funny. Go ahead, laugh it up at my expense."

"I always do."


	164. Not Like Funny Ha Ha But

She liked this, sleeping next to Gaara. It was comfortable. Sometimes she thought she wouldn't mind if he didn't love her, and they never kissed each other, or touched each other. As long as she could sleep next to him; that was all their relationship was really about.

But tonight she thought of Setsuna and Misa, holding hands all night long.

"Gaara?" She whispered. "Are you unhappy?" He didn't answer, asleep. "I don't know why I'm asking. I just feel lonely sometimes, even though I'm with people, even though I have you. Sometimes I think I'm unhappy, and I wonder if you feel the same. Is it my fault? I think maybe it is. If I could just work up the guts to tell everyone how I feel, then I think it would be easier. I don't know why I'm a coward Gaara. When it comes to other things I'm not a coward at all; not anymore. It's funny, really. I'm not afraid to die Gaara, I'm just afraid to tell anyone I love you."


	165. Euthanasia Sounds Like a Rescue Program

"You want me to try it? You're even crazier than I thought!" Misa laughed. She wasn't sure if Sakura really meant the words she was saying; she sincerely hoped she wasn't. It was too crazy. "It's crazy enough that you did it, but I'm a novice compared to you. What makes you think I'll be able to do this?"

"You're good with fire."

Misa frowned. How could Sakura be so calm about this? The fact that she was so calm disturbed Misa even more. "I could kill you! Do you realize that?"

Sakura shook her head. "Do you think I'm stupid?" She asked. "I don't expect you to do all the work; I have enough control over my own chakra to stop it before it gets too far."

"How far is that?" Misa wondered. "Second degree burns? First? How much flesh do you have to lose before it's too far?"

Sakura took Misa's hand in her own and continued speaking in a level voice. "What I did for Setsuna is only a temporary solution. Who knows when it will wear off? Who knows where I will be when that happens? It's better if someone close to him knows how to do it in case that should happen. Plus, I can't be the only one to do all the work around here. I know that you can do this, it's just a matter of getting it right."

Misa stared at Sakura. Sakura was calm, but Misa felt terrified. Never before had anyone asked her to do something this crazy before. She felt a little like she was being asked to assist Sakura's suicide. She was gambling with her life. Never before had anyone believed she could do so much.

"Why do you have so much belief in everyone?" Misa asked quietly.

"Because I was a failure as a kid." Sakura told her plainly. "All I had going for me was my smarts, which weren't really that great. But I had someone who really believed in me, as much as I hated him for it, and look at me now. I'm not a half bad person anymore."

Misa smiled. "Not half bad at all."


	166. An Overview Of Life

Every night she fell into bed exhausted, hoping Gaara would be there to fall asleep with her. Sometimes he would be there first, sometimes when she woke up in the morning he would be there. Sometimes she would dream he was there, and when she woke up in the morning she was never quite sure if he had really been there or not. Sometimes she slept alone.

She started Misa off with some basic training before actually getting her to try sending fire down her veins. So every day she trained with Misa, improving on her own skills at the same time. She realized again how hard it was for her to work with fire. Doing it every day was tiring, but she felt herself getting more comfortable with it again.

On top of training with Misa there were still the discussions about Gaara's seal, and the removal of the hundred seals. Whenever she felt herself getting frustrated with the slow progress of some of her 'students' she just reminded herself of her own slow progress, and she found she could be a very patient teacher after all.

There were also the hospital tours, the talks with committees and chairpersons and so on and on. And of course, Misa always wanted to go out for a drink after work, especially now that Setsuna was defrosted, as it were.

All in all, life was exhausting in Suna. It didn't help that the sun beat down on her every day either. What she wouldn't give for a little rain.


	167. Practice Makes Perfect Sometimes

"Slow down. You're coming on a little too strong." Sakura said, keeping her voice level as she willed the heat in her veins to die down.

Misa nodded and reduced her own chakra flow to a more bearable level. Sakura nodded, and urged her to tone it down more.

"Even at this level I have to control my chakra to keep from overheating. This procedure requires very little effort on your part, in fact, only a very high level of concentration." Sakura told her.

Misa stepped back. "I don't know if I can do this. My concentration isn't that great. You know, as a kid I took drugs to help me pay attention."

Sakura laughed. "I can totally see you having to do that." She shrugged then. "Don't get down. This is only your first day. What made you think you'd be able to do it the first time you tried?"

"You did." Misa pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm a genius." Sakura said, acting more confident than she felt. She laughed. "I've been training at this much longer than you have," she told Misa, "and with a much better teacher."


	168. Not Good At All

Temari frowned when Sakura dropped her chopsticks for the third time. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Is your hand bothering you?"

Sakura frowned at her wayward hand. "I'm fine." She told Temari. "It's my hand here that has a problem. It's been acting up all day. Maybe I'm nervous about something." She said with a grin.

"You should get it checked out." Temari said.

Aki laughed a little. Temari turned to Aki with a glare. "What?"

"Telling the best medic in Suna to get her hand looked at – it's kind of funny don't you think?" She said.

Temari shook her head at Aki. "It's the people who take care of others who take worst care of themselves." She said wisely. "That's one thing I've learned from life."

Aki nodded in mock solemnity. "Yes, I see." She said, stroking an imaginary beard. "Truly, your words are wise."

Sakura sighed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'll get someone to look at it."

"Good."

"Where is my cousin these days?" Aki asked, now that the matter of Sakura's hand was resolved. "She never joins us for lunch anymore."

"Of course not; she's off spooning with Setsuna I'm sure." Sakura said with an airy wave.

Aki made a face. "Somehow Setsuna doesn't seem like the spooning type."

Temari grinned and nudged Aki. "That's why he probably is. When he gets fired up I'm sure he's most passionate. The ones who are coldest in life are hottest in bed. Like Gaara, right Sakura?" She said.

Sakura stared at Temari, a little shocked at what she had just said. Temari grinned at Sakura for a moment, and then slowly her mouth dropped open, as she too realized what she had done. She glanced at Aki, and then back at Sakura. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" She said. "I wasn't thinking – I mean..."

Aki burst out laughing. When Temari and Sakura just stared at her she held up her hands and grinned at them. "Oh come on guys! As if I didn't know!" When they still didn't say anything she went on. "I mean, they lived together in Konoha for how long? I went to see them there, it was pretty obvious even back then."

"But we weren't together when you came." Sakura said.

"But you wanted to be." Aki told her. "Point is, anyone who knows the two of you, and doesn't know you guys are together, has to be pretty blind."

Sakura put her head in her hand and sighed. "That's not good..."

Temari patted Sakura's head. "Lucky for you, very few people actually know Gaara. Which means, as long as they only know you, they just think you have a crush on the Kazekage, which, let's face it, most of the ladies in this city do."

Aki nodded. "Your boyfriend is very popular."

Sakura just sighed again, even more deeply. "That's not good."


	169. Ah But All Secrets Eventually Come Out

"I always thought you liked Gaara."

Aki looked up at Temari with a small smile on her lips. "Why would you think that?" She asked. They had been walking back to the office in silence for a while, and the question kind of came out of nowhere.

Temari shrugged. "I don't know. When you came to work at the government office, you were so determined to work for the Kazekage. You didn't seem particularly ambitious; I always thought the reason you came to work for us was for him."

Aki shook her head. "Maybe at first I was just like all the other ladies of Suna, but that quickly faded."

Temari smiled. "Yes, it is hard to keep a crush on Gaara once you've actually met him. He's so short."

Aki laughed. "That's very true, but it's not why I stopped loving him."

Temari turned to Aki. "What was it then?"

Aki looked away, watching the street they were walking down. "I realized I had other interests. I still believe Gaara is a great leader, but he can't do it all alone. I really love this place too; I want to do all I can for it. And I... well, yeah."

Temari raised an eyebrow at Aki. "What was that? You were going to say something else."

"Was I? I don't think so." Aki said, shaking her head.

"There was something else!"

Aki laughed. "No ma'am. I had nothing else to add."

Temari sighed. "Alright. You can keep your secrets. For now."

Aki smiled. There was one secret she intended to keep forever.


	170. Promises

She didn't go to see anyone about her hand. She was afraid of what they would tell her. She already knew what was wrong with it; she just thought she would have been better at taking care of it.

She was brushing her teeth that night and she dropped the brush on the floor. Gaara got up from the bed and came to stand in the doorway.

"What's wrong with your hand?" He asked. "You've been fumbling all night – first your hairbrush, and then you couldn't open the door. Has your hand gone numb?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Gaara said, frowning at her. "Let me look at your hand." When Sakura didn't act, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it..."

Sakura nodded. "Because there isn't anything." At least, not on the outside.

She was surprised when Gaara closed his eyes, still holding her hand, and his frown deepened. When he opened his eyes again he looked angry. "Who did this to you?"

"What? How did you...?" She didn't think Gaara would have noticed.

"Who did this to you Sakura?" He asked again, his gaze darkening.

"No one. I mean, it wasn't on purpose. No one is trying to hurt me, actually, she's trying to help." Sakura fumbled for words. She didn't want Gaara to worry, but at the same time she didn't want to give away any details. Misa wasn't at fault, but Gaara might still be angry at her.

"Does this have something to do with Setsuna?" He asked, guessing right away what it was, to Sakura's dismay. "I heard what you did to him – is this to do with that?"

Sakura stared at him, wishing he would stop asking. She wasn't going to be able to lie her way out of this. She nodded. "But it's not Setsuna's fault. It's not Setsuna at all actually."

"Sakura, please just tell me what happened to you." Gaara said, looking at her with a serious gaze. She couldn't refuse when he looked at her like that.

She nodded and explained about Setsuna and Misa, and the training she had been doing with Misa for the last week. "I've been controlling the heat in my veins, and healing myself every night after we're done. I don't know why I'm reacting like this now."

Gaara took both her hands in his and stared into her eyes. "You have to promise me you'll stop this, at least until you get someone else to take a look at your hand. You're too blind to your own health; by the time you realize anything is wrong it will be too late. You're not superhuman Sakura."

Sakura puffed out her cheeks. "But I've been trying so hard for so long now. What am I missing?"

Gaara smiled and shrugged. "I guess a bloodline. Or radiation or something."

Sakura sighed. "I hate being regular."

Gaara nodded. "Promise me."

"I promise."

"Good." Gaara said with a smile and finally let go of her hand. "I'm going to bed now."


	171. You Scared Me

She woke up in the middle of the night wrapped tightly in Gaara's arms. She turned her head to see what was wrong. "Gaara?"

He shook his head and didn't move. "Why are you so mindless?" He asked. "What if something worse had happened? You could have lost an arm; you could have..."

Sakura smiled. "You know, I got the same lecture from Misa."

"Don't laugh please." Gaara said. "Do you realize what could have happened?"

Sakura nodded. "That's why I have to laugh."

"You shouldn't do these things."

"But when I think about Misa and Setsuna being unable to touch, unable to kiss..."

"I don't care about that." Gaara said bluntly. "Did you ever think about us? If it had gone badly, what about you? If we were no longer able to touch each other anymore, or see each other..."

Sakura was quiet. Her heart hurt at the thought, and she realized now that Gaara felt the same.

"When I think about what might have happened if you had made a mistake... The idea that you could have _died, _Sakura, that thought it... it scares me."

Sakura turned around and hugged Gaara. She kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his furrowed brow. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I never meant to make you worry."

"That's why I worry so much." He answered. "I love you."

"I'm sorry. I love you." She replied, kissing his cheeks, his nose, his lips.

He smiled suddenly, just a small smile. "You're sorry that you love me?" He asked, throwing her own words back at her. "Or did that just come out wrong?"

Sakura grinned and poked him in the ribs. "Oh shut up you!"

Gaara raised his eyebrows at her. "Why don't you make me?"


	172. You Ninjas Are Idiots

"I know you're supposed to be a genius and all... but you're kind of an idiot you know that?"

Sakura nodded her head meekly, smiling. "Yes I do."

The doctor who was looking at her, a small woman with a big voice named Seri, shook her head at Sakura's stupidity. "Your nerve endings are seriously deteriorated. What you've been doing has destroyed a lot of your body. If you continue with whatever it is you're doing – and I won't ask because I'm sure it's something much too smart and idiotic for me to understand – you will lose control of this hand, do you understand?"

Sakura nodded. "I understand. I just thought I had it under control."

"Well you were wrong." Seri berated her. "They say you know your own body best, but that's almost always a lie when it comes to you ninja. Every time I see one of you people in my office I know I'm just going to be frustrated with your thick skulled ideas of how to take care of your body."

Sakura choked back a laugh. "Yes ma'am."

Seri sighed and shook her head. "And you guys never listen to me. But I'll tell you anyway; don't do anything more to harm that hand of yours. Whatever you were doing – stop it. And try not to use that hand too much for a little while, say a week or two. You're a medic right, so you can heal yourself I'm sure, and you'll know all the little exercises to do."

Sakura nodded and stood, ready to leave now that she had her diagnosis.

"And don't think that because you can heal yourself you can return to doing whatever it was that destroyed your hand in the first place!" Seri told her, shaking her pen at Sakura. "No matter what you do, it's still the same body, it still has the same weaknesses, and now it always will."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you."

Seri sighed and shook her head. "Fine. Leave. And please listen to my advice."

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, as a fellow medic I can assure you that I at least will do what you ask."


	173. Collapse

Outside of the hospital she nearly collapsed, but found a bench to sit on in time. It was worse than she had expected. What could she do? Seri was right – she had to stop training Misa this way. But Misa still hadn't perfected her technique.

Sakura stared at her hand, watching as the fingers moved, stretched and curled. 'You will lose control of your hand.' Seri had said. Sakura couldn't imagine it. She couldn't stand the thought of being so crippled, and all because of her own stubborn stupidity.

She smiled a little as she thought of when she had been pregnant, and how it had taken her so long to notice. Seri was right; Sakura didn't know her own body at all.

She leaned over until her head was between her knees and breathed deeply. She wanted to cry so badly, but she didn't want to be seen.

Why was it that when one thing went right in her life something else had to go so wrong?


	174. I Want To Go

She went to see Gaara at the government offices that afternoon. She waited outside to be let in for ten minutes before Temari happened to walk past and pulled her inside.

"Why were you just waiting out there?" Temari asked. "If you'd told them your name you would have been sent right in."

Sakura was nervous, and she had wanted to take some time to gather her thoughts and her courage, but she didn't tell Temari that. "I'm not going to start throwing names around to get special treatment. You should know me better than that by now."

Temari shook her head. "Fine. Whatever. Go ahead to his office; I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

Maybe at first.

He looked surprised to see her there, and then motioned for her to sit down. He was with Aki, but she finished her business quickly and left the office. On her way out Aki gave Sakura's shoulder a quick comforting squeeze. Sakura smiled her thanks.

"What happened?" Gaara asked. "Did you go see a doctor today?"

Sakura nodded. "I'll be fine." She said. "But I have to stop the training with Misa."

"I see." Gaara watched her for a moment before asking, "Was there something else? I'm guessing you didn't come here just to tell me you'll be okay, as much as I appreciate it."

"I want to go home Gaara." Sakura told him. "I'm tired, and I'm worn down, and I miss my friends. I miss my family."

"Then go home." Gaara said simply. "I'm not going to force you to stay here if you don't want to."

"It's not like that." Sakura argued. "I do like it here. I just need a break."

Gaara nodded. "I know. I understand that, so I'm telling you to go home. I'll send a message to Tsunade with you, if you don't mind, asking her for my medic back. I know you've been homesick."

Sakura stood and bowed to Gaara, as a ninja bowing to the Kazekage of his city. "Thank you."

Gaara sighed. "Please don't do that. It's embarrassing enough when strangers do it."

Sakura looked up and smiled at him. "But if I tried to hug you I think I would have six bodyguards on me in no time."


	175. At Least Try To Sulk

She was packing her stuff up when her door burst open and she was tackled by a small football player. When she regained her breath and turned she saw that it was Misa.

"I'm so sorry!" Misa yelled. "I didn't know I was hurting you! Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Sakura frowned. "How do you know about that?" She shook her head then. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. It's not your fault Misa, so don't blame yourself. If I'm going to be stupid there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"So you're not leaving because of me?" She asked, looking up at Sakura with puppy eyes.

Sakura laughed. "Of course not! I would take you with me if I could, but unfortunately kidnapping is a crime."

"Why are you leaving then?" Another voice asked from the doorway. Setsuna.

"I'm leaving because my mission is finished." Sakura told him. "I was never supposed to be here permanently."

Setsuna stared at her with a look that suggested he didn't believe her. "What _was_ your mission anyway?" He asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." Sakura replied.

Setsuna opened his mouth to retort, but Misa glared at him. "Stop it would you!" She yelled at him. "Can't you see we're being distraught right now? Stop ruining the mood and come over here and sulk!"

Setsuna nodded and came into the apartment. He wasn't a very good sulker though.

"I'm leaving in the morning." Sakura told Misa. "How about I finish packing and we go out for a farewell dinner?"

Misa pouted, but she agreed.


	176. A Good Night In The End

She was surprised to see how many people turned out to wish her farewell. When she got into the restaurant that night she noticed there wasn't anyone there she hadn't met while in Suna.

She was seated at the head of a long table, with Misa on her left and Aki at her right. Gaara sat at the other end of the table with his siblings. Sakura caught his eye and smiled at him.

Someone ordered a round of drinks.

Once everyone had a drink Atsuo stood up and held up his glass. "Here's to Sakura; a very competent medic, and a great help to our team while she was here."

Everyone cheered and drank to Sakura. Sakura blushed and downed her drink as quickly as possible. If the whole night was going to be like this she didn't want to be sober for it.

Next her students made a toast. Natsuhiko stood up at the prodding of his friends and held up a glass. "To our most beloved teacher – the most exacting, expectant, and impossible to live up to teacher I've ever had. And luckily, the most patient."

Aki stood up next. "For returning our Kazekage to us in good health. And for being a bit of a brat really, in your treatment of him. To Sakura!"

It was then Misa's turn. "To Sakura; a genius if ever I met one." She said, smiling at Setsuna. "And a giving person. Though I have to say; a bit of an idiot sometimes."

Everyone laughed, and there was a loud "Here, here!" from across the room. When Sakura looked to see who it was she saw Seri there, laughing along with everyone else.

Temari coughed and stood up. She gave Kankuro a pointed look and he grudgingly stood up with her. "For taking care of our little brother so well, we thank you." Temari said. "For your humour and your patience with him, we salute you." Kankuro gave Sakura a salute, spilling some of his drink in the process.

"For your mad skills with a scalpel; we're a little afraid of you!" He added.

The night wore on, and people started to look to Gaara for a toast. It took some prodding, but eventually he stood up, and everyone hushed to hear what he would say about Sakura, including Sakura herself.

"To Sakura." He said. "For being the person you are."

There was a moment of silence after his words, as they all waited for more. Once everyone realized he had no more to say they all cheered loudly and drank some more.

All in all it was a good night.


	177. Time To Go

Sakura groaned as the bright sunlight hit her eyes. "Why did I think it was a good idea to go out drinking the night before leaving?" She asked.

"Because it was." Misa replied happily.

"Yes, I think it was a marvellous idea." Aki added. They had spent the night with Sakura, after stumbling home together and collapsing on her bed. Setsuna had spent the night on her couch. Sakura was a little bummed that she wasn't spending her last night in Suna with Gaara, but she figured it didn't really matter; it wasn't like she would never see him again.

She hefted her twenty pounds of reports onto her back and set off towards the city gates with her new friends at her side. She gave them each a sidelong glance, to burn their faces into her memory. She was going to miss them while she was gone.

When they got to the gates there was no one else there except the gatekeepers. Sakura frowned, but shrugged it off; she had already had her sending off party last night, so there really was no reason for anyone to come see her off at the gates.

They were all silent as they watched the gates being opened for the day. Once the gates had been completely opened Sakura turned to the other three. "Well, I guess this is it. I'll see you guys later."

Setsuna and Misa nodded, but Aki was looking the other way, fidgeting. Sakura touched Aki's shoulder and repeated her goodbye once she was sure she was paying attention.

"Right. We'll see you later." Aki said.

As Sakura was turning to leave she heard someone yell her name. She turned to see Temari and Kankuro running towards her with Gaara in tow.

"You weren't planning to leave without saying goodbye?" Temari asked, shaking a finger at Sakura.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm terrible at goodbyes. It makes everything seem so final."

Temari gave Sakura a quick hug. "I don't care. I'll miss you kid."

Kankuro came forward, but Temari held him back. "You don't get to hug her." Temari told him, and Kankuro shrugged.

"Good luck then Sakura." He said. Sakura nodded, and looked at Gaara, who then stepped forward.

"Goodbye Sakura." He said stiffly. "Have a safe journey home."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, I will."

Gaara opened his mouth to say something more, but shook his head instead.

"Well, I really should get going." Sakura told them. "I'll see you guys around."

And with a final wave she left Suna behind.


	178. So So So Sooooo Lame!

"You're so lame." Temari told Gaara. " 'Have a safe journey.' What the hell is that? Do you love the woman or not?"

Gaara looked up and frowned. He turned to look at Aki, sitting at her desk in the office and gave Temari a pointed look. Temari rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, as if she doesn't know by now anyway." She said. When Gaara still wouldn't talk she turned to Aki. "Aki, how long have you known Gaara and Sakura were in love?"

Aki looked up and smiled sweetly. "Since before they did ma'am." She answered smoothly, giving Gaara a little shock. How people could smile so sweetly while saying such words he would never know.

Temari turned back to Gaara triumphantly. "See?"

Gaara shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's not all up to me. She's the one who wanted to keep it a secret. She's the one who wanted to go home."

"Well what about what you want?" Temari asked.

Gaara looked up at his sister with a pained look. "What I want? You know what I want – you've been telling me so ever since you found out about Sakura."

"So what are you going to do?" Temari asked. Gaara saw that Aki wasn't paying attention to her work anymore; she was listening in.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything."

Temari sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. "You are _so _lame!"


	179. It's Good To See You Too

It was raining when she got home. She couldn't believe how long it had been since she had felt the rain on her neck – or how good it felt. "I missed you!" She yelled at the sky and made her way to Tsunade's office.

Tsunade looked up and frowned at Sakura when she walked in. "You? What the hell are you doing here?"

Sakura walked over to her desk and thumped down her reports, and on top of that Gaara's request for the return of his medic. "I'm home." She said, grinning.

"Did you break up?" Tsunade asked, ignoring the reports.

Sakura shook her head. "Why would you think that? Just because we're not together every moment of the day doesn't mean we broke up. I just wanted to come home."

"Hm. How very unprofessional of you." Tsunade said drily, and looked down at the stack of papers Sakura had plunked on her desk. She picked up the top sheet – the request from Gaara. As she read she scratched her chin thoughtfully. "The return of his medic hm? I've gotten quite used to Hyosuke you know; he's very helpful around here."

Sakura smiled. "I suppose it doesn't hurt that he's very good looking does it?"

"Of course not." Tsunade agreed, grinning. "Well, I guess it is good to have you back. But I'm going to send Gaara back another message asking him to wait. I wonder if you really still want to stay here."

Sakura nodded. "That's fine. I'd like to get to know this Hyosuke a bit."

Tsunade shook her head. "I'll tell you know; his face may be beautiful, but he is much too serious. Flirting just doesn't get through to him."

"You mean..."

"He's totally square." Tsunade told Sakura, throwing her hands in the air. "He's very smart, and very talented, but sadly, he is a complete square."

Sakura grinned. "It is good to be back."


	180. Tearful Reunion

The first time she saw Ino again, Ino asked the same question Tsunade had.

Sakura laughed. "Why does everyone think we can't have a relationship anymore once I've left the city? You know, there is such a thing as a long distance relationship."

Ino nodded and held a finger up to Sakura. "But you know how well those always work out."

Sakura punched Ino in the shoulder. "It's not like that. I just, for some stupid reason I no longer understand, missed you and wanted to come home for a bit. My mistake I guess."

Ino laughed and hugged Sakura. "I did miss you babe."

Sakura smiled and hugged her back. "I guess so – calling me babe, what's gotten into you Ino pig?"

"Without you around there are so many less shiny things in my life." Ino replied, looking pointedly at Sakura's forehead.

Sakura touched her forehead and whistled. "Oooh. Nice one. Subtle, but damaging."

Ino smiled. "Yes, I was quite happy when I thought of that one."


	181. No Withering Flowers Here

"But don't you miss him?" Ino asked that night, lying in bed together.

"I've only been away a few days." Sakura said practically. "I'm not a withering flower."

"Withering flower?"

"I don't know. I mean, I'm not going to fade away without him for a while."

Ino laughed. "Well than, I suppose that's a good thing."

"I like to think so, yes."


	182. On The One Hand

A week later Temari came into his office and sat across from him and then just sat there, staring at him. He worked on, ignoring her, for some time until she got frustrated. He smiled a little to himself; he always was more patient than her.

"When are we going to Konoha?" She asked.

He looked up from his work to meet her gaze. She looked kind of peeved, he noted. "I wasn't aware that we had any need to go to Konoha. Unless there's some business I don't know of."

Temari sighed at her brother's stupidity. "There was no real 'business' last time we went to Konoha now was there?"

Gaara nodded. "No there wasn't. You're right."

Temari stared at him a while longer. "So you're really not going to go after her? You're really doing nothing?"

Gaara nodded. "I've gone after her already before, as you just reminded me. I'm not going to try to control her, or force her to do anything she doesn't want."

Temari was silent again, and when at last she spoke again, it was as she stood to leave. "You know brother," she said, "you're more reasonable than even I had reckoned. Much more mature than I thought you'd ever be, that's for sure."

"I'm not really sure if I should be insulted or complimented." Gaara told her.

She shrugged. "You can take it as you like. All I know is that I'm a little disappointed. I was really getting into this love story."

Gaara frowned and shook his head. "Maybe it's time you got out of it. Find your own love story why don't you?"

Temari laughed. "What's the world coming to?" She wondered. "When Gaara is giving me love advice?"


	183. On The Other Hand

She did miss him, it was true. But it was also very frustrating. Why did this have to be so difficult?

She spent a lot of time sitting in her living room, staring at the wall and thinking about the situation. It really was a difficult choice. On the one hand, she really did love him, and she did want to be with him. On the other hand, she really loved Konoha. It was her home. She didn't really want to leave it, not forever, not yet. But then, she also liked Suna, and all the friends she had made there. But she had all of her friends in Konoha still, and her family, and technically her job and her boss. All of her stuff was still here.

She sighed. Why did she have to choose? It wasn't fair really; lots of people found love and never had to give up anything for it. Why couldn't she have both? Was it not possible to get everything?

She smiled to herself when she heard distant thunder rumbling. How she missed the rains when she was in Suna...

But on the other hand, she really did love him.


	184. Visiting My Mom

In the end, she went to visit her mother.

"You never had to give up your life for dad." Sakura complained, sitting in the sun drenched kitchen, breathing the air of a morning after the rain. Surely, this was the best air ever.

Her mother raised an eyebrow and shook her head at her. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "Nothing in life comes free; haven't I always told you that? When I married your father I gave up my old life. No longer was I my parents' child; I couldn't live with them anymore. I had to leave home and become a new person – a wife. Things are always changing Sakura, even though sometimes you don't notice them doing so. I know you don't. It's only sometimes that you get to decide in which way they change."

Sakura moaned and let her head fall onto the table. "Mom! I came here looking for you to tell me what to do! What's with this 'it's your choice' nonsense? Just tell me what I should do."

Her mom shook her head again and laughed. "I can't tell you what to do anymore! You're not a child."

"I'm not? Are you sure?" Sakura asked. "When did that happen, and how did I miss it?"

Her mother sighed. "It happened when you were very young, and it happened very fast. You haven't been a child for a long time now, as much as I hate it."

Sakura went across the room and hugged her mom. She wished she told her mother more often how grateful she was to her, how much she loved her. How much she would miss her.


	185. How I've Missed The Gossip Game

"Good morning Shizune!" Sakura chirped as she walked in the doors that morning. "I've just been down to the marketplace, and I've heard the most wonderful piece of gossip!"

"Oh do tell!" Shizune insisted, leaning forward eagerly.

"I've just heard that a noble from the country of Stone fell madly in love with Hanabi Hyuuga when he was here on a visit, and asked her to elope with him. Very romantically of course, with music and white doves and everything."

"And? How did Hanabi reply?"

"By smoothly breaking his little finger and asking him never to touch her again. That girl will never marry if she goes on like that!" Sakura said, shaking her head and tutting like an old woman. As soon as Shizune broke out into a grin though, she couldn't help laughing a little.

"You know, I've also heard a rather amazing rumour." Shizune told her.

"Oh yes?"

Shizune nodded. "Yes. I've heard that it will soon rain in Suna. The rain goddess has finally taken pity on them."


	186. Lazy War Wounds

"You aren't bringing an umbrella to work today?" Kankuro asked Temari with a grin. Temari turned at the doorstep to give him a withering look – with the hope that maybe today, with this look, it would finally force him to shrivel up – but to no avail. He still stood there, grinning at her like the idiot he always had been, and it seemed might always be. Why she loved him she could never tell. Some obligatory sibling thing she supposed.

"There's one little cloud in the sky." She said, pointing to the speck in the sky. True, it was more cloud cover than they'd seen in weeks, but it still wasn't enough to last even until noon.

Kankuro shrugged. "My war wound is acting up. I tell you; it's going to pour."

Temari shook her head. "You know Kankuro, I have war wounds too, and they're not doing anything."

"What lazy war wounds you have then, dear sister. How very useless of them."

Temari turned around and walked out the door without bothering to dignify that comment. "Don't be late for work!" Was all she yelled as she stepped out into the street on another sunny Suna day.


	187. Let's Get Together

She felt the first drop when she was walking home from work and stopped to stare up at the sky. At the clouds. "Well I'll be damned." She murmured. Maybe Kankuro's war wounds were good for something after all.

She got her family together so they could sit outside when the rain started, really started. Everyone in Suna would be doing the same.

Getting ready for the rain. Ready for the party.


	188. Everyone Is In Love Tonight

Once it really started to rain the streets filled up with people. When this sort of thing happened everyone was family – drinks were shared all around, snacks were passed from one end of the street to the other, everyone sang and danced with their neighbours, with strangers – when it rained, all of Suna was in love.

Aki was no exception. She spun around with anyone who asked, and would grab a passerby herself and do a little jig with them. When it rained, everyone laughed all night. She laughed too, and drank and sang as loudly as anyone else.

She was a little surprised when she found herself suddenly dancing with her boss. "Temari! You're out here?" Aki asked, yelling to be heard over the crowd. Temari nodded and grinned. She looked different, with her hair all wet and plastered to her head.

"Of course I am! Who isn't?" Temari yelled back.

Aki smiled and nodded and they danced in the mud, in the downpour. Aki felt her happiness bubbling over, spilling out into the streets with everyone else's.

She reached up and pulled Temari's face down and kissed her. A little voice at the back of her head was yelling at her, telling her to stop immediately, but there was another voice there too, surprised that Temari hadn't pushed her away.

Temari laughed when Aki let go. "I never realized you're such a loving drunk!" Temari said.

Aki laughed. "Sorry; I should have warned you."

Temari patted her on the back. "No worries! I've never had such a pretty molester before; it's rather flattering!"

Aki turned to smile at the sky. Of course. It was raining. When it rained, everyone in Suna was in love.


	189. Some People Are So Annoying At Parties

Gaara was never really sure if he enjoyed parties. He was pretty sure he didn't. There was always so much noise, so many people, everyone bumping up against each other... It wasn't his thing.

"Great party eh?" A voice yelled into his ear. He pulled his head away and sighed, resisting the urge to rub his temples. He wasn't made for this kind of thing. "Not for you?" The voice yelled again. He frowned and turned to see who it was who insisted on pestering him.

As soon as he turned Sakura grabbed his face and kissed him. She didn't care that there were a few hundred people surrounding them – she just wanted to do it. And he did too – as soon as she let go he grabbed her around the waist, leaned her backwards and kissed her long and hard.

Everyone around them burst out cheering loudly. When they came up for air again, Sakura's breath was knocked out of her by all the people slapping her on the back. She laughed and grabbed Gaara's hand. "Sorry I'm late." She told him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You told me that when it rained everyone turned out to party." Sakura answered. "A city wide party – do you think I would miss that?"

Gaara laughed and shook his head. "No, of course not."

"And you know, I kind of missed you."


	190. Maybe I Don't Want To

Later on they went to find someplace quieter to talk. They ended up in Sakura's old apartment, sitting by the window so they could still see the rain.

Gaara was silent, watching Sakura. She stared out at the rain beating against the window pane, tracing it's course down the glass with her finger. There was a faint smile on her lips; he wondered if she even realized it was there.

"When I went back to Konoha I went to talk to my mom." Sakura said. "For relationship advice. She told me that in order to move on with your life you have to sacrifice something. That in order to love you, I would have to give up my old home, that I would have to give up Konoha. But I don't think I can do that."

Gaara bit his lip. Was she going to tell him it was over now? But why would she do that now, after kissing him in front of everyone, after coming all the way from Konoha for a party? He wanted to intervene there, but he knew she wasn't finished.

She turned to face him and grinned. "Why should I have to give anything up? Why can't I have both? I guess what I'm asking you is, would you mind? Having a girlfriend who can't choose? If I went back and forth between you two."

Gaara frowned and stroked his lip, thinking. "You don't have another boyfriend in Konoha do you?" He asked. "Because the way you're presenting this to me is rather suspicious."

Sakura laughed. "No, I don't. Konoha is my other boyfriend I guess."

"So what made you decide to make our relationship public?" Gaara asked, referring to earlier.

Sakura shrugged. "I was worried that other girls would hit on you in my absence while I was in Konoha. I realized then that I should have made it known that you were mine before I left, but now I've done that, so you'd best not be cheating."

Gaara smiled. "And what about you? Shall I go to Konoha and announce to everyone there that you are mine?"

Sakura shook her head and laughed. "No way! If you did that, everyone would be afraid to go near me! Imagine, who would risk Gaara of the Sand's wrath by approaching his girlfriend – I wouldn't be able to talk to any men anymore!"

Gaara reached over and took Sakura's hand into his own. "As long as I can see you, as long as I know you're out there, thinking of me as I'm thinking of you, then I don't mind if you're cheating on me with Konoha."

Sakura leaned over and hugged his shoulders. "Thank you. But just so you know, I'm not as giving as you are. In fact I'm very possessive, so if I ever hear about you and another woman, or city, or whatever, I'm coming for you."


	191. So Tell Me What I Should Do

In the end, I couldn't make up my mind. I couldn't settle.

Tsunade was annoyed with me, but understanding all the same. She didn't deserve a no-good student like me, but she put up with me so well. Probably because I worked so hard for her while I was there.

Ino pretended to be jealous. She said she would go out then and marry a Kage of her own, or a president. Or both. She said she couldn't stand being outdone by a baldy. And then she kissed me on my giant forehead and wished me good luck.

He makes fun of me. He always does, and I suppose he always will. He plays the harassed wife when I'm with him, making jabs about my mistress, wondering when I'll come home for good, wondering what will become of the children with such a wayward mother.

What children you ask? No children, in fact. Until I can make up my mind, I'm not going to be having children and carting them from one city to the next, just because their mother loves one man, and loves another city.

In the end, I am a child of the Rains, but I am also a lover of the Sands. So tell me, what am I supposed to do with that?

**The End**


End file.
